The Doppelganger Effect
by Neuropsych
Summary: A man is found dead with Castle's wallet in his pocket
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I am not writing this story to make money in any way, and I do not own any characters that I don't make up. It's all for fun!_

_**The Doppelganger Effect**_

Detective Kate Beckett pulled up to the dock and tried to find a place to park. The dock itself wasn't all that big, and there were already several cars and vans parked all around, taking all the good spots. She was spotted by one of the uniformed officers who had been keeping the small crowd of curious civilians back behind the hastily erected taped section, and was waved over to a spot that she hadn't noticed until he pointed it out. With a little relief that she wouldn't have to park all the way out in the street and then push her way through that crowd, she parked her car, made sure her badge was tucked into her pants' beltline, and headed for the end of the dock.

The helpful officer held the tape up for her to duck under and she thanked him with a smile, even as she took a cursory look at the crowd that was gathered. Not that she was looking for anything in particular, it was just her nature to see if there was anything out of place – or anyone that looked guiltier than anyone else. Nothing made her suspicious offhand, but before she could head for the end of the dock she saw Ryan heading her way from out of the middle of that crowd.

"Beckett."

"Hey. What do we have?"

"I'm not sure. I just got here." He looked around. "Where's Castle?"

"I'm not sure. I called him, but it went straight through to his voicemail."

"That's odd."

"He'll show up," she said. "Soon as he gets the message." There was no doubt about that. She hadn't seen him in a few days, so she was looking forward to it – even though there was no way she'd tell him that. "Where's Esposito?"

"He's already here – somewhere. I was at Jenny's when the call came in and she lives further away. He said he'd come and get the preliminary things out of the way."

Since Kate could see the Medical Examiner's truck, she knew Lanie would already be at their crime scene – or at least at the spot where their dead body had been pulled out of the water. Beckett hadn't heard much more about the scene than that, but they'd soon know more than they wanted to about the evil things that one person could do to another.

Ryan fell into step beside her as she started walking toward the end of the dock. Now all she had to weave her way through were the various official vehicles; police cars for the most part. She spotted Esposito coming around the Medical Examiner's van and he saw her at the same time, and started her way. He looked a little pale, and there was definitely something off in his step. She stopped walking and waited for him to come to them.

"Hey…"

"What do we have?" she asked.

"You okay?" Ryan asked at the same moment. He obviously saw the same thing she did. Something was definitely not right.

Esposito ignored Ryan's question, focusing instead on Beckett.

"Have you talked to Castle?"

She shook her head.

"I tried to call him, but there wasn't an answer."

"When?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We don't know for sure yet that anything is," he temporized. "It could just be-"

"Javier? What is it?"

"Our dead guy is pretty messed up from being in the water. We can't-"

"What are you –"

"He had Castle's wallet in his pocket."

"What?"

"We found Castle's wallet in the pocket of the guy they pulled out of the water. Lanie-"

He didn't get any further. Beckett had started walking again, her mind numb and filled with denial. There wasn't any way. Just because she hadn't seen him or talked to him, that didn't mean anything. Castle's presence in the precinct was erratic at best. Sometimes, when he was writing, he wouldn't be seen for days. Although he did normally call every now and then, just to say hi or share some interesting thing that might have happened to him that day.

Lanie saw her approaching and walked over to head her off from the covered corpse that she'd been studying.

"Lanie?"

"Don't panic just yet, Kate," the Medical Examiner told her. "We don't know anything for certain."

"Esposito said Castle's wallet was found on the… the…"

"We found his wallet, yes, but the body has been in the water for at least two days and it's badly mangled. I can't see enough to confirm any kind of identity – and you wouldn't be able to, either, so there's no sense in you even trying."

"But-"

"The clothes are high quality," Lanie said, softly. "The size is right, more or less, and so is the build, but Castle is average enough that it still could be anyone. I'm going to try and get fingerprints and I'll request dental records. Until then, there's nothing I can tell you about the dead body."

Beckett bit her lower lip, feeling a little lost and lightheaded, but she felt the presence of the two detectives who were standing on either side of her and saw the compassion in Lanie's expression.

"We should go to Castle's place," Ryan said. "There could be a good reason that he's not answering the phone. We might find the answer there."

Beckett's eyes strayed to the covered body, but instead of stating the obvious, she just nodded.

"Right."

"I'll let you know as soon as I have anything, Kate."

"I know. Thanks."

Lanie reached out and touched her arm, briefly, and then turned back to what she'd been doing. Beckett turned to Esposito and Ryan. Both of them looked as sick as she felt just then.

"I'll meet you guys at Castle's."

They nodded and all three turned and headed for their cars.


	2. Chapter 2

The doorman at Castle's building knew Beckett very well. Well enough that she didn't need to flash her badge to get by security. Esposito and Ryan were similarly well known and they were passed through also. Beckett might normally have stopped to talk to the doorman and the security officer who was always there to keep fans from sneaking in on Castle – as well as a couple other semi-famous people who lived in the same building that he did – but she was lost in thought, and more or less working on automatic pilot just then. She didn't say anything in the elevator but all three of them had their hands on the butts of their weapons when the elevator door opened.

All three of them immediately looked at the door to Castle's loft, but there was no sign of any kind of forced entrance. The lock didn't seem to be messed with in any way. Ryan covered Esposito, who tried the door first, and then rang the bell.

"Castle?"

Beckett didn't realize she was holding her breath as she listened for a response from inside until she started feeling a little dizzy.

"Did he say anything about all of them going anywhere?" Ryan asked.

"No."

But she hadn't spoken to him in a few days, so what did she know? She reached into her pocket and pulled out the emergency key Castle had given her long before, and unlocked the door. Before she opened the door, however, she pulled back and drew her gun. Beside her Ryan and Esposito did the same thing.

When she pushed the door open, though, there was no immediate sign that anything was amiss. The place was immaculate as usual, and looked to be empty.

"Martha? Alexis?"

There was no answer, and she went into the kitchen while Esposito and Ryan split up to check the rest of the house. They all converged a minute later in the doorway of Castle's den. It was empty, too.

"Anything?"

Esposito shook his head.

"No. Place is empty. No sign of anything wrong, though."

"Castle mention them going out of town or anything?"

"Not to me."

"He _would_ have, though, right?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. Sometimes he can't go an hour without checking in and telling me what he's doing, and other times when he's writing or distracted by something I don't see him for a while…"

Which they both had observed themselves, although Beckett was definitely the one he spent the most time with and talked to the most.

"Does his mom or Alexis have cell phones?"

"Both do, and I don't have either number. We can get them, though."

"Right. Let's go talk to the doorman and the building security."

OOOOOOOOOO

"I haven't seen Mr. Castle in a few days," the doorman told Beckett and Esposito when they asked. "I know that Alexis-" he looked over at Esposito. "She likes to be called _Alexis_, not 'Miss' or anything else, you know? She and her grandmother were here yesterday morning, but I haven't seen them today. I don't know if they went anywhere yesterday afternoon or evening – I got off at noon."

"Did any of them seem upset?"

"No." he frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"We just need to talk to them." She handed over her business card. "If you see any of them, please let them know I'm looking for them and then give me a call."

"Sure thing."

The doorman went back to his duties just as Ryan walked over from the security desk.

"Security guy says that they don't log tenants in and out – only deliveries and that kind of thing."

Which Beckett already knew. She knew that _she'd_ never been required to sign in or out when she'd come to visit and she'd never heard of any higher end building that required the people who lived there to check in and out with them. Security was usually there in case someone went on vacation and needed a delivery made during that time, or to keep crazy fans from showing up at someone's front door.

"Did he see anything?" Esposito asked.

Ryan shook his head.

"Guy said everyone seemed to be acting the same way that they usually do, and he won't turn over security tapes without a warrant – because of the other tenants' privacy."

"We can't get a warrant until we can prove there's a crime," Esposito said.

Beckett felt a pang that actually caught her breath in her chest as she realized that no one had seen Castle in days – and that meant that it really could be him that had been fished out of the water that morning.

Esposito and Ryan shared a look, and then Esposito touched Beckett's elbow, startling her out of her brooding thoughts.

"Let's go to the precinct and see if we can get hold of his mom or daughter," Esposito told her. "For all we know he's with one of them."

"Maybe on a trip or something," Ryan added.

She knew they were both trying to make her feel better about things and she knew that she'd appreciate it later, but just then she was so numb that she seemed to be having trouble thinking. She nodded, though, and forced her feet to move her from the lobby of the building and back out to their cars.

"You okay?" Esposito asked.

She nodded, again.

"Yeah. I'll meet you guys back at the precinct."

She got into her car, but before she started the engine she took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Castle's number again. Once more it went to voicemail and she cursed under her breath and hung up without leaving another message. Before she could tuck it back into her phone she decided to make one more call.

_"Hey, Kate."_

"Hi. Have you found anything, yet?"

"Not yet. I just got him on the table."

_"Is it him?" she hated to ask, but she had_ to know. Putting off bad news wasn't going to make it any easier. Beckett knew that better than most.

_"I don't know."_ Lanie's voice was truly concerned, and Beckett knew it wasn't just because she was worried about Kate, but because Castle was her friend as well. "_I haven't seen Castle naked, so I don't have any way to compare the body I'm looking at to his..."_

There was a short pause, and Beckett felt a slight smile pulling at the edges of her lips despite herself – and her worry.

"No, Lanie. I've never seen him naked, either."

She heard a soft, wry chuckle.

_"I'll let you know as soon as I have the dental records – but it might not be until morning."_

Beckett sighed.

"Thanks."

She hung up and started the car.


	3. Chapter 3

It was easy enough to get the phone numbers for Martha and Alexis. Esposito offered to make the calls but Beckett knew that it wouldn't be as worrisome for them to get a more official call from one of the others. She sat at her desk for a few minutes, staring at Martha's number, almost afraid to dial, before she finally did. She was almost surprised that there was an answer after only a couple of rings.

_"Hello?"_

"Martha?"

_"Detective Beckett?"_

"Yes."

_"Hello, Dear. How are you?"_ There was only a moment – before Beckett could reply – and she spoke again, this time her voice a little concerned. _"Is everything alright?"_

"Yes," Kate told her, wishing it were true, but unable to allow herself to say anything and upsetting Martha without more proof. "I was just wondering if you've seen your son…"

_"He isn't with _you_?"_

That made Beckett's heart sink. Clearly Martha thought that he was. She forced down the lump in her throat and tried to make her voice sound normal.

"Not at the moment, no…"

_"I haven't seen him in a few days Detective. He said he was doing some research for his next book and was going to be in and out – but mostly out. Since Alexis and I were going to be going around looking at some colleges it was a good time for him to do it."_

"Is that normal for him?" she asked. "To disappear like that when researching a book?"

_"Now that the books are about you, he usually stays close, but there have been times when he's been doing research that I haven't seen him for a couple of days – and once for a week."_

"Did he mention what kind of research he was doing?"

_"No, I'm afraid not. You tried calling him? Of course you did, or you wouldn't have called me."_

"I did," Beckett confirmed. "It went to voicemail."

_"Should we come home?"_

Which was her way of asking if something was wrong. Beckett wasn't ready to face Martha – and especially Alexis – with no answers.

"No. I'm sure everything's fine. I'll keep trying his phone."

_"You might try going by the loft,"_ she suggested. _"Security can let you in. It's possible he turned off his cell."_

Kate swallowed hard, but nodded.

"I'll do that. If he calls you, will you let him know I'm looking for him?"

_"Definitely."_

Beckett thanked her and ended the call before Martha could ask her anything else. She was already skirting the edge as far as the full truth was concerned and she didn't want to plunge headlong over that precipice. Only then did she sigh, a long drawn out and almost hopeless sound.

"She hasn't seen him?" Ryan asked. Both he and Esposito were sitting on the edge of the closest desks to Beckett's.

She shook her head.

"No. Not for a few days. Just like everyone else. He told her that he was researching his next book."

"A Nikki Heat book?"

"Martha thought so."

"What now?" Esposito asked. "Coroner's?"

"No. Lanie is doing the best she can, but she told me that she's going to have to wait for the dental records and said it might not be until morning."

"We know most of his favorite spots," Ryan said. "We can go check them out."

Beckett nodded.

"You guys do that, I'm going to make a few calls to other people he knows and see if any of them have seen him."

The guys nodded and left; glad to have something to do. Beckett watched them and then slumped in her chair, staring morosely at her computer screen. She'd need to look up numbers in order to call people, and most likely wouldn't get through to most of them since they were – for the most part – in the famous or wealthy set, and those people weren't always readily available to a simple police detective. She'd give it a try though, since it was all she could think to do.

"Beckett?"

Her head came up, guiltily, and she saw that Captain Montgomery had come up to her desk without her noticing. Chagrined, since she hadn't been schooling her expression as she was want to do, she tried to force a smile, but his own expression told her quite plainly that she hadn't done a very good job of it.

"Sir."

"What have you found out?"

"Nothing, yet. Castle hasn't been seen by his mom or daughter for a few days, hasn't been seen by the security people in his building in at least that long and Lanie can't confirm one way or the other if the body that was found is his – despite many similarities."

"The only thing making it Castle is the wallet?"

"The body is the right build and is wearing high quality clothing, and it's quite a coincidence that he's missing the same time that the body shows up."

"It's still only a coincidence. She's running tests?"

"Yes, sir. She'll let me know as soon as she can."

His hand came down on her shoulder and he squeezed it, responding to the uncertainty in her voice.

"Don't draw conclusions until you have all the evidence," he told her. "Castle's smart."

"I know."

She also knew he was incredibly curious. Curious enough that he could get himself into trouble without her there to keep him from stepping over lines that shouldn't be crossed.

"What are your options?"

"Esposito and Ryan are checking his known haunts. I'm going to call everyone I can think of and see if anyone has seen him – or if he's with them."

"Sound thinking. Get to it."

She nodded and he left her desk and went back to his office, while she took a deep breath and started looking for phone numbers.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Several hours later she was no further along than she had been when she'd started – and had only managed to talk to one actual person. The Mayor hadn't seen Castle – but he'd been out of town himself until just the day before, so it wasn't a big surprise. He had been helpful giving Beckett the numbers to several of the people Castle played poker with, but it was after 7pm by then and she would have to wait until the next day to call them. Ryan and Esposito hadn't had any more luck than she had, and both of them looked as frustrated and hopeless as she felt when they'd checked back in with her long after dark. They were out of places to look, and reluctantly had to admit that they were out of ideas. At least for the moment.

The three of them sat in the quiet precinct, mulling what to do next, but there just wasn't anything to go on. Uncertainty was enough to depress them all, and Beckett knew that better than any of them. She shooed them off to go get themselves some dinner and some rest and with the promise that by the time morning came, she'd have a few other ideas. Not that she really thought she would, but she'd be able to call those friends of Castle's that she hadn't called yet, and hopefully one of those would give them something to go on.

They left, reluctantly, and only when she agreed to leave as well. Both Esposito and Ryan knew that she'd brood at her desk all night if given the chance, and they figured that if she was going to brood about what might be, it was better that she did it at home. She walked out with them, and Esposito walked her to her car since his was parked beside hers.

"Call me if you hear anything," he told her.

"I will."

She drove straight home rather than stopping to get something to eat at a drive through or a take out place. She wasn't hungry anyway – the thought of food made her feel sick just then – and she didn't want to drive any longer than necessary just then. Curiously, her eyes would tear up for no reason, and it made everything blurry until she wiped them. She pulled up to her building and parked in her spot, but leaned against her steering wheel for a long time before she dragged herself out of her car and headed for her building.

The new place was only a few floors up and most of the time she simply walked up the stairs rather than take the elevator. This time her legs felt too weak to trudge up the stairs and the elevator was opening and one of the people who lived above her was getting out, so Beckett got in and reached for the button for her floor. She frowned when she saw that someone had smeared something on the panel, and the cop in her murmured that it was a bloodstain even while she told herself that it could have been anything. When the door opened on her floor she walked up to her door and frowned when she saw that there was another smear on her doorknob. A dark stain that hadn't been there that morning – and this time the cop in her was done murmuring and was screaming at her that it was blood. She looked both left and right, but the hall was deserted and looked exactly like it had when she'd left that morning. Pulling her gun – just in case – Beckett tried the knob and found it unlocked.

She opened the door carefully, glad that it wasn't one of those squeaky ones, and silently peeked her head through the door, listening for any telltale sound or indication that there was some kind of ambush waiting for her. She didn't hear anything and with the light on she could see that there wasn't anyone at the entrance. Another smear on the floor, this time a bloody handprint, and Beckett frowned and walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind her and locking it to keep anyone from sneaking up behind her – just in case. A quick scan of the room showed no one was there, but when she moved into the dark living room she immediately noticed another bloodstain on the hardwood floor in the dim light from the kitchen and heard a slight rustling sound from the corner. Gun pointed that direction, Beckett walked over to the light and flipped it on.

In the corner of the room, propped up where the two walls met, was a crumpled form, bleeding and battered, but very much alive. Her heart leaped in gladness and relief as she recognized him immediately.

"Castle…"


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, I don't know why the site isn't showing chapter 4 but i'll repost it - again - and see if that helps._

_Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, I'm glad to be writing a Castle fic again and I do think that the fans of that show (which I am, too, obviously) are amazing. In answer to a question, this story is pre-Gates and Beckett getting shot. She's not with Josh, either, or anyone else, because I'm a Castle-Beckett fan and like the idea of them together and since I'm writing the story there's no real reason for me to write something that annoys me! Also, I like Montgomery and while I'm sure there's a reason they took him off the show, it's another one of those things I don't like to write. There may come a time I write a story with Gates, but it isn't today or this story. I should have put that in the beginning notes so everyone would know who to expect to see, but I didn't think to. Sorry!_

_That said; let's see what happens next. This chapter might be just a little short..._

_OOOOOOOOOOO_

"Kate…"

His voice was a whisper, and he'd brought a hand up to shade his eyes from the sudden light. A hand that was smeared with crimson and holding his cell phone.

"Jesus, Castle…"

She hurried over and knelt down beside him, taking in his injuries with a practiced eye as she did so. His face was bloody, but it looked like most of the blood was coming from a wicked looking gash that was right above his hairline above his left eye. There was a bit of swelling around that same eye, which told her that he'd been hit – probably with something other than a fist. He winced when she opened his sports jacket and ran her hands along his sides, feeling for injuries that she couldn't see without taking his jacket off – something she didn't want to do without knowing what other injuries he might have.

"Owww…"

"I'll call an ambulance," she told him, pulling her hands back and relieved to see that there wasn't any blood on them. At least he wasn't bleeding where she couldn't see it – although she'd felt some swelling along his ribs.

"No," he caught her hand as she reached for her cell, startling her. He grimaced in pain but his grip was strong and sure. This hand wasn't bloody, but there was swelling on his knuckles and his sleeve fell away enough that she could see a red mark on his wrist. "You can't. I need…" he shook his head, as if trying to clear it.

"Rick?" she was used to dealing with injured people. She was a police officer, after all. Beckett knew he might think he was okay, but evidence was definitely telling her otherwise. "I need to get you to a doctor."

He nodded, but didn't let go of her hand to allow her to make the call.

"My doctor. He can come here. I tried to call him…" he waved the phone in his hand, and Beckett took it from him with her free hand. A quick check showed it was dead. Which explained why he hadn't answered when she'd called him. "Please…"

Wondering if he was worried about the public hearing about this, or something else entirely, she finally decided to do what he wanted. She didn't see any major injuries and as far as she could tell his breathing wasn't compromised.

"What's his number?"

He relaxed, marginally, and closed his eyes.

"It's in my phone."

She looked at the dead phone in her hand.

"What's his name?"

"Gerald Cutter."

"Hold still for a minute…"

She took her hand from his and stood up, dialing dispatch even as she went into the kitchen and opened the freezer.

"This is Detective Beckett. I need the number for Doctor Gerald Cutter."

While she was waiting for the number she pulled out the ice bucket from under her built-in icemaker and grabbed a couple of clean dishtowels. One she made into an icepack and the other she soaked in cold water and wrung it out as well as she could with one hand. The dispatcher came back on the line with the number she needed and she dialed it and called Castle's doctor as she went back to the corner. His eyes were closed, but they opened again when she placed the icepack against the side of his swollen face. He hissed in pain but didn't jerk away, instead just closing his eyes again.

It was far easier to get the doctor to come than she had expected to. When he came on the line she introduced herself and told him that Castle looked beat up, and he simply asked where she was and a few questions about his condition and then told her that he'd be right there.

"The doctor's on his way, Castle," she told him, hitting the speed dial button on her phone that would call Esposito.

He didn't open his eyes, he just nodded.

Esposito answered almost immediately and with a few words Beckett told him what little she knew and told him to come over. She hung up knowing that he would call Ryan and the two would be there as soon as possible and put her phone away and pressed the cold, damp towel against his cut head. Since a doctor was on the way, she decided that it would be a good idea to just leave him where he was, rather than try to move him. Just in case he was hurt worse than she thought he was.

"Who did this to you, Castle?" she asked.

He opened his eyes again, looking up at her. His normally inquisitive and intelligent gaze was dull with pain and shock, and Beckett increased the pressure on the cut.

"I don't know…" he finally answered. "There was a man… he looked like me. And a big guy… who didn't." He seemed to rouse himself a little, and his eyes widened. "My mother and Alexis?"

"They're fine. I spoke with your mother earlier."

"Okay." He leaned back a little and his eyes closed again as his body seemed to relax a little. Beckett wedged the icepack between the side of his head and the wall he was leaning it against and got up. This roused him enough that he spoke up. "Don't leave me."

Kate brushed her fingers against his cheek – the side that wasn't swollen. "I'll be right back. I need to unlock the door."

She took care of that and grabbed a throw blanket from the back of her couch and covered him with it. He reached for her hand blindly, and Beckett caught it with one of her own while the other kept the towel against his forehead. She sat down beside him as well as she could and studied him carefully. He looked tired as well as beat up, and she had a feeling that that was at least part of the reason he couldn't keep his eyes open.

"Where have you been, Rick?" She murmured, softly, trying not to disturb him but wanting – and needing – to talk to him to reassure herself that he was really going to be okay. "I was so worried about you…"

He didn't answer, but the hand holding hers tightened just a little.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Okay, hopefully that chapter 4 problem will be the only one we have. I put 4 up twice (as 4 and then as 5) and then deleted 5 once it started to show up for everyone. Hopefully it'll save a lot of confusion later – although I know it created some for you who thought I'd put up 5 and it wasn't showing. We'll figure it out, though! I made a forum at the site that might help with communication if it happens again. If you want to join feel free, but of course you don't have to. I'll post the link on my twitter site, which you can find in my profile. So here we go with chapter 5. Let's hope it works._

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Knowing how long it took her to get into the doctor when she actually had an appointment scheduled weeks in advance, Beckett was shocked that Castle's doctor arrived before Esposito or Ryan. The knock on her door wasn't a cop knock – and Ryan or Esposito wouldn't have knocked first, anyway. Beckett turned her head at the sound and simply yelled for the doctor to come in rather than move the towel from Castle's cut head. She heard the door open and then close, and called again so he'd know where to go.

"Over here."

The doctor surprised her yet again when he crossed the kitchen and entered the living room. She'd been expecting someone older and dignified – the typical doctor stereotype. Instead, Doctor Cutter was young – probably even younger than she was – and too handsome to be real. Beckett felt her jaw drop, but she couldn't help herself.

"You _must_ be Detective Beckett," he said, coming over with a small bag in his hand. "You're _gorgeous_."

She felt her face get warm immediately, and couldn't think of anything to say. His dark eyes were smoldering and friendly, his gaze only for her just then. An olive, Mediterranean complexion and wavy dark hair with a perfect smile made her feel as awkward as a newborn foal.

"Uh…"

"Gerald, I'm down here."

Castle's voice was wry and amused - although laced with pain, and it startled them both. Cutter grinned, though, and reached over and put his hand over the hand Beckett had pressed against Castle's head. She moved her hand and got out of the way so he could take her place.

"Who beat you up, Rick?" Cutter asked.

Castle started to answer, but instead winced away from the doctor's touch when he started probing the area around his cut head.

"Ow…"

"Sorry." He looked over his shoulder to Beckett. "Help me get him to the couch, will you, Detective?"

She nodded and went to Castle's other side, and the two of them managed to get him to his feet, although he was unsteady and leaned precariously against Beckett when she put his arm over her shoulder. She held him as gently as she could, trying to keep from hurting him further, and he paled noticeably when they got him upright.

"_That_ can't be good," Kate murmured, looking over Castle's head at the doctor.

"No. Let's get him off his feet."

They walked him over to the couch, but before they sat him down, Cutter pulled off the jacket Castle was wearing, and then his shirt.

"Ouch." This time it was Beckett who winced. There was a large bruise on his ribs and the mark she'd seen on his wrist had a matching one on the other wrist. "Those are binding marks," she said, taking Castle's hand to get a better look at his wrist.

"Binding? What do you mean?" Cutter asked, his attention back on Castle's cut head. "_This_ is going to need stitching."

"Someone had him tied up…"

"What? _Seriously_?"

"Looks like it." She frowned, looking at Castle's face. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Give me a chance to check him out. I don't see anything too bad, though, just a-"

There was a commotion at the door, suddenly, and Esposito came into Beckett's place without announcing himself. Right behind him, Ryan was looking at the bloodied doorknob. Cutter looked over at her, concerned, but she smiled reassuringly as the two detectives joined them in the living room. Both looked at Castle, then at Cutter, and then at Beckett.

"Doctor Gerald Cutter, these are Detectives Ryan and Esposito."

"Hi."

"Hey."

"What's going on Beckett?" Esposito asked, looking back at Castle and frowning. "Wow, Castle, who beat you up?"

"Where ya been, Castle?" Ryan asked.

"I…" The writer looked at them, but suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

Beckett stepped forward, concerned, but Cutter was already checking him out, giving him a number of simple tests.

"He's okay," the doctor said. "Almost certainly just a combination of shock and blood loss. It's probably a good thing, really," he told them as he bent over and opened his bag, pulling out a syringe and a small vial. "I can do the stitches without him knowing it."

Ryan looked a little green at the sight of the needle, but Esposito started to take a step forward to watch. Beckett stopped him, though.

"Should we take him to a hospital?" she asked.

"They won't do anything I can't," he assured her. "He needs stitching and cleaned up – which I'll do while he's out – and some ice packs on the bruises. A good night's sleep – with someone monitoring him – and he should be looking a lot better in the morning. He'll definitely be more lucid."

"He couldn't be any less…" Beckett said. She sighed and stood up, moving out of the way so she didn't need to watch the stitching job. She was feeling just a little green, too. She gestured to Esposito and Ryan to join her in the kitchen while the doctor continued working on Castle.

"So what did you find out?" Esposito asked.

"Nothing. He was here when I came in, and too out of it to tell me more than his doctor's name. But someone's had him tied up, and he mentioned someone who looked like him – and someone who didn't."

"That could be the guy with Castle's wallet," Ryan said.

"Possibly," she acknowledged. "He wouldn't let me call an ambulance, either."

Esposito frowned.

"Why not?"

"He wouldn't say. Hopefully tomorrow he'll be able to tell us more."

The detectives all looked over at the couch where Cutter was leaned over Castle, working on him.

"You keeping him here tonight?"

She nodded.

"No sense trying to take him home. Besides, we still don't know who hurt him, and they might not have anything to do with the dead body. I'd rather have him somewhere we can watch him – just in case."

"And if they followed him _here_?"

She shook her head.

"My door was unlocked when I came home. Castle has a key – which he must have used – but he didn't lock the door behind him and the blood on the doorknob and the elevator button would have led them right to him if they'd followed him. He was helpless. They could have taken him out, or taken him back to wherever he was the last few days."

"So there's nothing we can really do tonight…"

"No. Not until we find out what happened."

"And no chance of that?"

"Let's find out."

They walked back into the living room.

"How's he doing, Doctor?" Kate asked.

"Stitches are in." Cutter gave Beckett his dazzling smile again. "I was going to shave his head, but he'd never have forgiven me." She returned the smile, and heard Esposito chuckle. "Other than that, you saw the bruises and abrasions. Nothing too terrible, but he's going to hurt when he comes down from the painkiller I administered."

"He'll be okay, though?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah."

"We can settle him on the couch," Beckett said. "Will that be all right?"

"Should be. It'll keep him from tossing and turning like he might if we tried to put him in a bed. He _does_ need someone to stay with him, though. I don't mind hanging around…"

Ryan and Esposito shared an amused look that Beckett caught but Cutter hopefully missed. She _had_ figured on keeping the doctor around in case Castle was hurt worse than he'd thought, but the last thing she needed was the teasing that she knew she'd be in store for if she took Cutter up on that offer and had him at her place all night.

"No…" she said, slowly, pretending to think it over. "If he's not hurt that badly then there's no reason to keep you from whatever you were doing. Just tell me what I need to know for when he wakes up."

She looked at Esposito again, and he arched an eyebrow, looking from her to the young doctor and back to her, again.

Beckett just rolled her eyes. She'd get even later. Once they had Castle's situation figured out.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: Okay, here comes chapter six. I hope it doesn't take so long to show!_

OOOOOOOOO

With Beckett's help, Doctor Cutter settled Castle on the couch with a few pillows propping him slightly upright and cradling his head and a warm comforter off of the bed in the guest room covering him. While they did that Esposito went back to Castle's place to pick him up a change of clothes and some toiletries – including a razor, since he was wearing a couple of days worth of stubble. He'd probably feel a lot better in the morning if he had a change of clean clothes. Kate was glad he thought of it, because she wouldn't have.

Cutter gave Beckett a packet of painkillers and a few instructions for what to watch for in case he'd been wrong and the writer was injured worse than he thought. He told her to call him when Castle woke and he'd come over and check him over again. Beckett thanked him for the immediate attention he'd given Castle and the doctor had admitted that he and Castle played golf together whenever they had a chance, so he didn't mind.

When everyone else had left she pulled the icepacks off his bruises and covered him warmly, and then went to make new ones for later. After that, despite the fact that it was starting to get fairly late, she called Martha to advise her that she didn't need to worry about Castle, she'd found him. Which wasn't exactly true, but was better than the truth and would keep the older woman from worrying or cutting their trip short. That taken care of, she pulled the blanket from her bed and settled in the leather chair that was positioned near the couch. Melodramatic, maybe, but Beckett was honest enough with herself to admit that she'd had a bit of a scare and needed to make sure that he was really going to be okay. If that meant staying by him that night to be able to change out the icepacks at the intervals that Cutter had told her, then that's what she'd do.

She wasn't going to be able to sleep, anyway, she was sure.

OOOOOOOOOOO

A soft groan jerked Beckett out of a half doze several hours later. She sat up quickly, her blanket falling to the floor as she looked over at the sleeping form on the couch. Only he wasn't completely asleep any longer. His eyes were closed but his face was contorted in agony and she knew that it had been the pain that woke him. She crouched down next to him, her fingers gentle as they touched his arm. He opened his eyes, startled at the touch, and flinched back with a yelp that ended in a curse when the action caused pain to explode across his head and torso.

"Easy…" Beckett murmured, putting her hand back on his arm, reassuringly. "It's okay, Castle."

He turned his head, his swollen eye not changing much, but the other one clearly trying to focus on her.

"Kate?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"What?"

He looked around and started to sit up.

"_We need to get out of here,"_ he started to say, but the motion hurt and he couldn't sit up completely. His eyes closed and his hand went to his head, even as she pressed him carefully back against the pillows.

"You're safe, Rick," she told him. "You're at my place."

"What?"

"You're at my place. Look."

He pulled his hand away and opened his eyes again, but he looked only at her.

"Kate?"

"Yeah."

"My head hurts…"

Clearly.

"You've got a pretty nasty cut. Your friend Doctor Cutter stitched you up and gave you a painkiller."

"Gerald's here?"

"No. He left."

Castle lay still, probably trying to figure out where he was and how to stop the aching in his head, but Beckett was already standing up.

"Don't leave –"

"I'm not. I'm going to get you something for your head."

"It hurts."

"I know."

He managed to keep his eyes open and watched her as she went into the kitchen and gathered an icepack, the painkiller and a glass of water to wash it down. When she returned, he tried to sit up, but again was stopped by the pain – both in his head and his body. The only plus was that the pain seemed to be helping him clear his head – at least a little. His eyes weren't quite as glazed over, at any rate.

"Swallow these," she told him, pressing the pills against his lips rather than risk him dropping them if she handed them over. He did what she told him, and she held the glass of water against his lips, too, simply to avoid water being spilled on her new leather couch. He washed the pills down, choking a little and then leaned back into the pillows again.

"You found me?"

"No," she told him. "I didn't even know you were missing."

"How did I get here?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"I…"

He stared at her, looking so miserable that she knew he wasn't going to be able to answer that question just then. Beckett decided that the interrogation was going to have to wait. She'd dealt with people who weren't any more coherent than he was just then and she knew she wasn't going to get anything out of him until he could get past the pain he was feeling. Besides, she didn't want to add to his misery if she could avoid it. She leaned forward and touched his cheek.

"Don't worry, Rick," she said, gently. "The answers can wait until morning."

He met her gaze for a moment and then his eyes closed. Beckett assumed that the medication was kicking in and he was going to fall asleep again. Which was almost definitely for the best, as far as she was concerned. She picked u the cloth-wrapped icepack and pressed it against his swollen cheek, figuring she might as well try to get the swelling down a bit while he got some sleep.

"Kate?"

His voice was sleepy, and his eyes never opened, but he managed to find her free hand, and he held it loosely. She looked down at it, a million emotions going through her just then, and she had to clear her throat before she was able to answer.

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks for finding me…"

She started to correct him, but it wasn't necessary. He'd already fallen asleep again.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a dull throbbing that woke Castle. A throbbing in his head that was reminiscent of a toothache in the way it wouldn't go away, but one that hurt every part of his head except his teeth. When he finally accepted that the pain wasn't going to fade no matter how much he tried to will it away, he opened his eyes, confused by the dreams he'd had and the aches that certainly seemed to be trying to tell him that something was wrong. The first thing he noticed – aside from the fact that he wasn't completely sure where he was – was that the side of his face and most of his neck and shoulder on that same side were also damp. He reached up and pulled away a towel and what might have been some kind of freezer bag or something similar. Whatever it was, the towel was soaked, and was probably the reason he was.

Castle had just realized that what he was holding might have been an icepack at one point when his stomach cramped abruptly and for a moment he thought he might throw up. Then his head cleared long enough for him to decide it wasn't nausea. He was _hungry_. He turned his head cautiously, trying to keep it from falling off, and saw that Kate Beckett was asleep in a chair that had been pulled closely up to the couch he found himself on. He stared at her, certain that he was seeing things, because he had no idea where she'd come from, and his befuddled brain couldn't come up with any scenario that could possibly have come to this conclusion.

He reached out his hand to touch her – mainly to prove to himself that she wasn't really there – and found that the arm he touched was very much real. Her eyes opened at the touch, and he read the concern in them before he managed to figure out that he was the cause of it.

"Castle?" She leaned over, taking the icepack from his hand, and her eyes met his as she ran her hand lightly over the side of his face. He tried to force a smile to clear the worry from her gaze but he must not have been too successful, because she frowned. "How do you feel?"

"Hung over…" he answered, and his voice croaked in the middle of the word. "My head hurts." He started to raise his hand to try and figure out why, but she stopped him before he could.

"You have a bad cut," she told him. "Try not to touch it."

"Where are we?"

"My apartment."

He frowned, looking around, but he realized that she was right; they were definitely in her living room. Which meant he was on her couch.

"What happened?" he asked. "How did we get here?"

"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" she asked.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to think. The pain in his head, the ache in his stomach and the fact that his bladder was suddenly threatening to burst all seemed to be far more overwhelming than the fact that he couldn't remember arriving at her place. Then he saw a flash in his mind, a face that wasn't his, and a room that wasn't one he'd ever seen before. He tried to see the face again, but he couldn't get beyond the aches and pains to do it.

"I don't know," he admitted with a sigh of frustration. "It's all fuzzy. There's a room… and a guy – I think – and I couldn't reach my phone…"

He trailed off, annoyed that he couldn't remember the information he wanted, and anxious since he knew it was important that he did. He felt her hand on his arm and he turned to look at her and was surprised to see that she didn't look as annoyed as he felt. She looked more concerned than anything.

"How's your head?"

"What? It hurts."

His stomach growled, loudly, and she must have heard it because she smiled.

"When's the last time you ate anything, Castle?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know."

"Then if you're up for it, let's take care of the distractions, first," she suggested. "Maybe it'll help you remember if you're feeling better…"

That made sense to him. He started to sit up a little more, and she moved quickly to help him. Assistance that he needed, he was chagrined to find out. His entire body was one giant ache and his muscles were all stiff. He groaned when they finally got him upright, and he put his head in his hands, carefully avoiding the spots that hurt the most.

"I feel awful," he told her, not looking up.

"Well, if it helps, you _look_ awful, too."

"Thanks."

He heard a soft chuckle.

"Do you want a painkiller? There are still a few here."

"Do you have any aspirin?"

The last thing he wanted was to lose what little grasp he had on reality, and he'd already figured out that he didn't do that well under the influence of potent medications.

"Sure."

"So you don't know how I got here?" he asked, looking up as she got up to go get him the pills.

"You were here when I came home."

"Huh…" He took the aspirin from her with a soft thank you and downed them. "Did I break in?"

"You used your key," she told him. "Think you can eat anything?"

He had the impression that she was going to try and go at his memory loss obliquely instead of head on. He'd seen her use the technique with witnesses before – ask them questions in random order to get answers that didn't make them thing too hard about anything and maybe get in the way of what they were trying to remember – and he was more than willing to go along with it.

"I could eat _anything_," he assured her. "But I really need the bathroom…"

"Need help?"

"No, I got…" he trailed off with a grunt of pain when he tried to stand, and she helped him up and steadied him while he tested his balance. The headache was making everything else impossible. "Maybe a little help…?" he asked, his hand bracing on her shoulder.

Beckett smiled, and shifted until his arm was over her shoulder and she was supporting more of his weight than he'd originally intended.

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

They moved slowly, but eventually she got him as far as the door to the bathroom. Beyond that he was determined he could do things on his own, and he was fairly certain she'd prefer it that way, too. She left him standing at the door and brought over a stack of clothes that he recognized as his own.

"Esposito brought these over. You'll probably feel better if you're dressed."

He didn't know for sure that he agreed, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

"Thank you."

She smiled.

"I'll make breakfast while you get yourself cleaned up a little. Be careful, though, not to hurt yourself, and call me if you need help."

He allowed an eyebrow to rise, even though it hurt to do it, and was rewarded with a blush and a half smile. She didn't say anything, though, she just made sure he was steady enough on his feet to be able to take care of himself, and then she left him and headed for the kitchen.

Castle grinned, already feeling a little better – although it might have been because his head wasn't pounding quite so badly – and he headed into the bathroom.


	8. Chapter 8

Since he'd seemed so hungry, Beckett had decided that she'd make a hearty breakfast. If he was able to eat it without making himself sick, she figured they'd have a better chance of getting him to remember what had happened and where he'd been. He would have one less distraction, anyway, and she hoped he'd at least feel a little better than he had. She was used to Castle being cheerful, confident and yes, maybe a little annoying. She liked him that way. Seeing him so confused, uncertain and in so much pain was unsettling.

By the time she'd made a meal of eggs, sausage, pancakes and fruit, she was beginning to worry since she hadn't heard much of anything from the bathroom. She'd told herself that she was going to give him all the time he needed to take care of himself, but she was beginning to get worried that he might have passed out, or was more injured that they'd thought he was. Just as she was coming out of the kitchen to check on him, the bathroom door opened and he walked out – slowly, but upright and under his own power. She watched as he moved slowly and carefully over to the table she had set with the food and debated whether he'd want her to support him again or not. He made it to the table on his own, though, and sat down heavily.

"You didn't shave…" she noted, almost automatically.

She was immediately chagrined. The last thing he needed was her critiquing how he looked, but it was the first thing that popped into her head when she knew he was okay. Luckily, he didn't look offended, just miserable.

"I tried. I couldn't keep my arm up long enough to even get started."

He _did_ manage to change into the pants Esposito had brought, but not the shirt. Probably for the same reason.

"After we eat, I'll help you if you want," she offered.

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all."

He forced a smile, and rested his head in his hands, propping his elbows on the table.

"Those weren't my pants," he said, abruptly.

"What? Esposito got them at your place."

"No. _These_ are," he corrected. "But the ones I was wearing aren't."

Beckett started putting a plate of food together for him, acting casual but actually fairly tense.

"We found a dead man in the water yesterday," she said, wondering if he would know anything about it. "He was wearing expensive clothes and had your wallet…"

Castle looked over at her.

"Really?"

She nodded and put the plate in front of him. The writer didn't hesitate to pick up a pancake and wrap it around a sausage, but even while he wolfed it down she could tell he was preoccupied. She just wasn't sure if it was his hunger, his head or any other number of distractions. She didn't expect much from him just then as far as information went.

"It might not be related to whatever happened to you."

"But it might."

"Yeah."

Before he could respond to that there was a knock on the door. Castle froze, uncharacteristically high strung, and Beckett frowned, but waved for him to stay put.

"Eat," she told him. "I'll get it."

He would have taken forever to get to the door anyway, so she stood up and went and opened the door, Standing there, bag in hand, was Doctor Cutter, and he casually tossed her that perfect smile once more.

"Good morning, Detective," he said. "I thought I'd come see how my patient is doing."

"He's up and eating," Beckett replied, smiling. "Come on in."

"Thanks."

Cutter headed unerringly for Castle, who looked surprised to see him.

"Gerald?"

"Hey, Rick."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you."

The writer frowned, and looked at Beckett.

"How did he know?"

"I was here last night, Rick," Cutter said, putting his bag on the floor and pulling a chair over and sitting down. "You don't remember?"

"No." Castle looked over at Beckett. "He was?"

"You told me to call him."

"I _did_?"

"You did."

Now Castle looked completely baffled.

"I don't remember any of it…"

"You were pretty beat up," Cutter said, not sounding at all concerned at the lack of memory – although Beckett definitely was. "How are you feeling now?"

"My head hurts."

"And?"

"And I can't remember anything from the last few days, apparently…"

Cutter frowned.

"Nothing at all?"

"Flashes of things that don't make any sense…"

The doctor started running some tests on him, checking his reflexes, eyes, heart and various other places that left Beckett baffled, but were probably important.

"There are two major injuries that I can see, Rick," he finally said, talking both to Castle and also to Beckett. "There was obviously a blow to the side of your head – your cheek, the area around your eye and jaw are all fairly swollen and bruised. That one's an older injury, though. The bruising and swelling is an indicator the injury wasn't looked at when it happened – and it's probably why you're having trouble remembering what happened. It's not uncommon for there to be some kind of amnesia – usually temporary. The other injury is obviously the cut on your head. That one's under control, I think. If I'm reading the injuries right, I'd say wherever you were, you were tied up or cuffed with your arms above your head. Both shoulders are strained, from the swelling I see. Probably hurts like hell. You look tired, and fairly battered and beat up, but some sleep, food, and something for the pain should set you right in a few days or so."

"So you agree he was tied up?" Beckett asked.

"Or cuffed." He took Castle's hand and showed her the marks on his wrist. "You were right about them being from something like that. Good catch, Detective."

"It's not the first time I've seen it."

"He'll be fine," Cutter assured her. "His health is good, he'll heal."

"What about not being able to remember?" Castle asked.

"You're already taking care of that," Cutter told him. "The flashes you're getting are a sign that you're trying to remember. There might be some things that you never get back, but it shouldn't be much."

"That's a relief," Beckett said.

The doctor smiled at her.

"Keep an eye on him and he should be okay in a day or two. If you need anything, though, you have my number."

"Thanks, Gerald," Castle told him.

"Yes, thank you," Beckett agreed. "Do you want to stay for breakfast?"

"I do, but I can't. Thank you."

Kate walked him out, and when she came back to the table Castle was still in the same position that he was, staring down at his plate. She put her hand on his shoulder as she walked by him and he looked up.

"Eat," she ordered. "Then I'll help you shave, get your shirt on and see about making you feel better."

"You don't have to work?"

"I am working," she replied. "My job is to be here when you remember what happened – and to see if I can help you remember."

"I don't remember being tied up."

"It's pretty obvious you were, though. Eat."

"But what if –"

"Rick. Eat before it gets cold. We'll figure it out. I promise."

There wasn't much he could say to that, and his stomach reminded him with a loud growl that one pancake and a piece of sausage was not a meal. He nodded, and turned his attention to his breakfast. Beckett watched long enough to make sure that he wasn't any worse for the wear after being so thoroughly checked out by his friend, and then started eating as well.


	9. Chapter 9

"Please tell me you know what you're doing…"

Beckett nodded.

"I've done it a few times."

"On _people_?"

"My dad used to let me try it on him a few times."

"Your _real_ dad? The one I've met? Who isn't your stepdad because you accidentally slipped with the razor and your mom had to go find another guy because her first choice had bled to death on the kitchen floor?"

Kate actually chuckled at that.

"Yes. My _real_ dad." He didn't look 100% convinced, but since he wasn't all that mobile, Kate figured he probably wasn't going to jump out of the chair and run away. She tried for a confident look as she squirted some shaving cream on her fingers and then started to slather it on his jaw, careful to be gentle when she reached the swollen areas. She met his gaze, and smiled as she lathered his chin and upper lip. "It won't hurt a bit."

"I've _lost_ blood already, you know…" he told her. His eyes were smiling, though, and she was glad to see it. A big breakfast and the assurances that his memory problems should go away had helped ease the troubled look in his expression that she'd seen earlier. He still looked terrible with the bruising and swelling, and he still looked _really _ tired, but not as awful as when he'd woken up that morning. She was hoping that the shave would make him feel even better.

"I'll be careful," she promised, wiping the shaving cream from her hand with a wet hand towel she'd brought from the bathroom when he'd finished eating and picked up the razor Esposito had brought from Castle's place. "Hold still."

He closed his eyes and held his breath, which just made Beckett's smile widen. She had barely made the first swathe with the razor, though, when there was a knock on the door and it opened and Lanie walked in.

They both turned to look, and the medical examiner smiled when she saw what they were doing and came over to join them.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"I just came over to check on our patient…" she said, looking down where Castle was sitting and frowning at all the bruises. She put her fingers on his chin and used that hold to turn his head to the side to give her a better view of his swollen eye and cheek. "How are you feeling, Castle?"

"I'm okay."

"He's not _okay_," Beckett disagreed. "But he _is_ better than he was last night."

"Javier said he was pretty beat up…" Lanie said, cleaning the shaving cream off her hand. "Who beat you up, Castle?"

"I'm not sure…"

"He doesn't remember," Kate told her. "But he _will_," she added, quickly. She figured changing the subject would be a good idea, and already had her next topic in mind. "Did you find out anything about the dead body?"

"He didn't drown," Lanie answered, her fingers gently sifting Castle's dark hair to look at the stitches in his scalp. "The lungs didn't have any water in them. Cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck. With two other shots – one in the leg, and one in the stomach. Almost looked like a strafing, the way they lined up. I pulled a .44 caliber slug out of his leg and his stomach, but the throat wound was through and through."

"Do we have an ID yet?"

"No." She brushed her hand on Castle's shoulder. "But at least we know who it _isn't_."

"True."

"Are you going to keep an eye on him?"

"You know, I'm right _here_," Castle said, only slightly annoyed that they were talking over his head. He really didn't feel like holding either end of a conversation, but he did want to be part of any decisions that were made.

"We know," Lanie assured him. "But Javier said that you were pretty out of it last night and I didn't want to add to it if you still didn't feel up to it."

"Martha told me yesterday when I talked to her that they were planning on being home in a couple days. That should give him time to heal up before they get here and hopefully will keep Alexis from getting too freaked out."

"I have an extra room if you want me to take him," Lanie offered.

"I'll keep him," Beckett said. "Montgomery's given me permission to follow up on this part of the case – especially since we need to find out why our dead man had Castle's wallet in his pocket."

"I'm going to get that back, right?" Castle asked.

"Eventually."

"I need to get to work," Lanie told them. "You guys need anything?"

"I think we'll be okay," Beckett replied. "It's probably going to be a fairly quiet day."

"Well I'll call you if I find out anything."

"Thanks, Lanie." She left and Kate sat back down in front of Castle and once more picked up the razor. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

She shaved his face with care, figuring that the last thing he needed were nicks to pile up on the rest of his aches and pains, and then she washed his face with a clean, wet cloth, making sure to get rid of all the leftover shaving cream.

"Well?"

He brought his hand up to check her work and smiled.

"Feels right."

"Well don't sound so surprised," Beckett chided. "I told you I've done this before."

"I won't doubt you again."

Beckett doubted that, but she didn't say anything to contradict him just then. Instead she reached for his shirt and helped him get it on over his head and pull his arms through the sleeves.

"So? Now what?" she asked, running her fingers along his jaw, just to make sure she didn't miss any spots. "Ready to go back to bed?"

Castle wanted to tell her that he didn't need to – especially since he'd only been awake a short time – but he had to admit that he didn't feel like doing anything else just then.

"What are _you_ going to do?" he asked.

"Since I'm here at home instead of at the precinct, I'm going to read some of the department policies that they are thinking about implementing. I've only been putting it off for weeks."

"Then I'll nap, I think."

She watched as he got to his feet and made his way back to the couch.

"I can make up the guest room bed," she offered.

"Couch is fine," Castle told her, practically falling into it when he reached it. "That way if you need me I'm here."

She couldn't think of anything she might need just then, but Kate just nodded. He closed his eyes, but brought his hand up to his face again, running it over the uninjured side of his face.

"You did do a good job," he murmured, leaning sideways until he was back against the pillows that had kept him propped up earlier and sighing. "Thanks, Kate."

Beckett helped him get his feet up onto the couch and covered him with the blanket.

"You're welcome."

Then she went to find the papers that she wanted to read, leaving him to his nap.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: Sometimes the chapter that I put up might not be as long as some would prefer. Usually I stop when I have a natural break in the action (or homey coziness, depending on what the chapter is about). It's just the way I do things, sorry. I write in between working and doing house stuff or taking care of the real world. On the plus side, I do try to post more frequently to make up for the shorter chapters when I can. _

OOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett had settled herself in the chair that she'd ended up sleeping in the night before while Castle napped. It was big and soft and covered in leather that was more than comfortable enough for her to read in. She was distracted, however, from her reading by Castle, who wasn't sleeping soundly like he had been last night. He wasn't exactly tossing and turning - she was pretty sure he hurt too much to do that - but even asleep it was clear he was in pain and the arm that he hadn't fallen asleep on was twitching every minute or so. When she first noticed, she'd set her reading aside, wondering if she should wake him up and give him a painkiller to help him sleep. She still had the ones that Cutter had given her for him, after all, and she was sure they'd knock him out enough to sleep. A different part of her, though, wondered if he might be dreaming about what had happened to him and wondered if there was a way to get that information from him while he was sleeping.

She didn't like to watch him like that, though, and eventually she leaned over and touched his arm.

"Castle…?"

He twitched again, pulling away in his sleep but unable to go anywhere due to the back of the couch and the pillows around his shoulders and head.

"Castle?"

The writer woke with a gasp of what sounded like fear to her, and another, more violent flinch at her touch. He sat up, quickly, and winced, but adrenaline was clearly keeping him upright and his eyes were wide open, now, his face pale and his expression dazed and confused in every way. She moved quickly, putting her hand on his chest to keep him pressed back against the couch and pillows rather than allowing him to maybe take a tumble that his sore arms wouldn't stop.

"Easy Rick…"

"Kate? You found me."

Which was definitely a repeating theme the last day or so. She didn't argue with him, instead, she tried a different tact this time.

"Yeah," she agreed, moving from the chair to the edge of the couch, balancing precariously there, but as close to him as she could get. "Where were you, Castle?"

"In a room," he answered, looking at her. His eyes were starting to focus a little, now, but she could feel his heart slamming against his chest, right below her hand. "In a room…"

"Where?"

"In the dark."

"Where was the room, Castle? Where did I find you?"

He shook his head, obviously trying to clear it.

"You didn't…" he whispered. "I waited for you to, but you never came for me…"

"Where were you?" She asked, her voice just as soft. "Do you know?"

"I was in a room," he repeated. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. "There was a man… and a woman. They were arguing about something."

"Do you know what they were arguing about?" she asked.

"No. I couldn't hear." He forced himself more upright, and she helped him and then moved to sit beside him to _keep _him upright. Leaning against her a little, he looked over at her. "I was tied in a dark room… Maybe I was kidnapped?"

Beckett shook her head.

"That wouldn't make sense, though," she said, pulling the blanket back over him - and her - to try and warm him back up. He was shaking hard enough that the vibrations were making his teeth chatter.

"Why not?"

"Most kidnappers are after ransom. If you'd been kidnapped for ransom, they should have tried to contact your mom, or even me. We didn't even know you were gone."

"Then what?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "You don't remember being taken there? Seeing anything that might tell us where you were?"

"No." He stared off into the distance for a moment, and then suddenly moved, shrugging off the blanket and stumbling to his feet.

"Castle?"

"I need to get out of here."

"What?"

"I need to get out of here."

"And go where?" she asked. "Did you remember something we can-"

"No." He turned to look at her, and his expression was one she'd seen many times - but never on him. He was panicking - big time. "I just need-"

"Castle, you need to calm-"

"I need to _go_. I have to figure out what happened. I can't-"

She caught his arm as he took a step toward the door, and the grip forced him to turn back toward her.

"Castle."

"There _has _to be-"

"We'll figure it out," she promised him, using her most calming tone and trying to radiate that aura of assurance that most cops developed eventually. "But you need to calm down. We're not going to be able to figure anything out by just rushing out the door and-"

"_We're not finding anything out here_!" he snapped at her. He stopped, abashed, and she saw the panicked look fade just a little as he tried to think of a way to apologize for shouting at her.

"We _have_, though," she told him, her tone gentle and careful, her hand going from the grip on his arm down to hold his own hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "We learned for certain you were in a room, tied up. All we need to do now is figure out where it is and who put you there and why."

"That's all?" he asked, sarcastically. "I don't-"

"Hey," Beckett interrupted. "We'll figure it out. We always have before." Her free hand came up and her palm cupped his cheek. "We will. I _promise_."

He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.

"I just want to know what happened…"

"I know. Come sit down?" There was a long pause, but he finally nodded and allowed her to walk him back to the couch and push him back down to the spot he'd abandoned so abruptly. She sat down beside him, and he put his head on her shoulder. Beckett reached out and managed to get the blanket around him again, but then she kept hold of him, hugging him closely, glad he was starting to calm down. He relaxed noticeably, and she stroked his hair as she held him. "Maybe we should try hypnosis…" she murmured, more to herself than to him.

His head came up, though, and he looked at her without pulling away from her embrace.

"Hypnosis? Really?"

She shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to end up clucking like a chicken every time someone sneezes…"

Beckett smiled, relieved that he was able to joke with her.

"I wouldn't let them do that to you. Just think about it, okay?"

He dropped his head back to her shoulder, not ready to give up the comfort she was offering, and closed his eyes - although he had no intention of going back to sleep. Ever.

"Okay."


	11. Chapter 11

They sat together on the couch for a long time. Castle couldn't remember any time when he'd felt more shaken, and Beckett's arms around him seemed to be the only thing that was keeping him from falling apart completely. He wasn't used to feeling so off kilter and definitely wasn't okay with the fact that he couldn't remember anything. Luckily, _she_ seemed to know what he needed more than _he_ did, and she was willing to be the rock that he could cling to in the midst of so much uncertainty. He sighed, and her arms tightened just a little, and he figured she was worried that he was going to freak out on her again.

"Easy…"

His shoulders hurt too much for him to hold her back, but her touch was therapeutical, and as he felt himself relax, the tension in his body lessened a little and his fear ebbed. She was right; they'd solved all sorts of mysteries before. They shouldn't have trouble figuring out what had happened to him, too. He wasn't so sure of the hypnosis thing – there were a lot of unresolved issues he had (and many of them had to do with Kate Beckett) – so he wasn't positive that having his psyche peeled apart with her present was such a great idea. Couples – even couples that _weren't_ a couple – should have some secrets between them, as far as he was concerned. Of course, he wasn't very good at relationships, so it was possible he was wrong about that.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her neck.

"For what?"

"All of this."

"It's not your fault."

"I shouldn't have yelled at you."

He felt her turn her head and he was pretty sure she pressed a kiss against his hair, near the stitched area but not so close that she could hurt him.

"It's okay."

They were quiet for a while longer, but he finally picked his head up from her shoulder so he could look at her. She looked tired and concerned, and he wondered how he looked to her.

"You talked to my mother?"

Beckett nodded.

"She knows that I'm not looking for you any more. Beyond that, I didn't tell her anything about what's going on. I wasn't sure what you'd want her to know…"

"Thank you."

She smiled and let go of him, pulling the blanket a little more snugly about his shoulders. Before she could say anything – and she was thinking that maybe they needed some coffee – there was a knock on the door and Esposito and Ryan walked on. Both of them immediately headed for the living room, eyeing Castle and doing a quick assessment of his injuries that they could see. Mostly bruises and swelling.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan said, giving the writer a slightly relieved smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Beat up."

Which made both men smile.

"You look beat up," Esposito told him, sitting in the chair Beckett had vacated. "Any luck remembering what happened to you?"

"No."

"I suggested hypnosis," Beckett said. "But he doesn't want to cluck like a chicken or something."

"Good call," Esposito said. "My cousin had that done at one of those county fairs and now he dresses in women's underwear."

Kate smiled at that.

"I think we would be able to avoid the side affects."

"What _do_ you remember, Castle?" Ryan asked, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"I remember that I was tied up in a little dark room."

"But _before_ that," Ryan pressed. "I mean, you must remember something since the last time we saw you."

"Your mom said they invited you to go on their tour of colleges, but you told them you were going to research a book," Beckett told him. "Do you remember that?"

He nodded.

"Yes."

"What kind of research?" Esposito asked, curiously. "A new Nikki Heat?"

Castle shook his head.

"I'm not researching a book – at least that's not why I didn't go with them."

"What?"

"I lied," he admitted. He looked over at Beckett, his expression clearly hoping she'd understand. "They're on the west coast looking at colleges like UCLA and UW. Alexis will never come home for holidays if she's that far from home… It was too depressing so I told them I couldn't go, but that I'd go back with her if she found one she really liked."

He watched Beckett's expression soften, and tried to force a smile so she wouldn't know just how much it hurt to think of his little girl leaving him, but it wasn't too convincing he knew.

"Then what did you do?" Esposito asked. "After they left…?"

He sighed, and closed his eyes, thinking back.

"I offered to take them to the airport, but Alexis was going to meet up with a friend and her dad, so she said he was going to pick mother and her up. So I figured I'd go get a drink at the Haunt."

"You drove?" Beckett asked.

"No. I wasn't planning on getting bombed, but I figured a cab would be a better choice."

"Then what? You went to the Haunt?"

He looked at them, blankly.

"I don't remember going there, but that's where I was going, so I must have."

"That's our first stop, then," Esposito said, looking at Ryan. "We go and see if they remember Castle coming in for a drink on Friday."

Ryan nodded and stood up.

"We'll let you know what we find out," he promised, looking at Castle and Beckett.

"Why don't we just go, too?" Castle asked. "Maybe it'll help jar something if I go and talk to them myself."

Esposito frowned.

"You sure you're up for that, bro?"

"Yeah."

He wasn't, but he really wanted to go. He was the one who couldn't remember anything, after all.

The detectives all shared a look, but eventually Beckett shrugged.

"Can't hurt to try, right?"

OOOOOOOOOO

In short order, he and Beckett were in her car, and Ryan and Esposito were planning on meeting them at the Haunt. They decided that it might be odd if Castle were to go into the bar and ask if anyone remembered seeing him, so Esposito and Ryan were going to handle that part, while Beckett checked in with the Taxi company to see where Castle had been dropped off that day – just to confirm that it had been where he'd planned on going. She could do that over the phone, though, so they headed for the Haunt, following the guys.

"Look right?" Beckett asked.

He shrugged, looking out the window as she drove.

"It's not the same way I go, since we're coming from your place…"

Good point.

When they arrived, Beckett parked them in the off-street parking, next to where Esposito parked. The two detectives nodded their direction as they headed into the building, and Castle leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes, trying to remember being there while Beckett called the Taxi company. He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, Esposito was tapping on the window and Beckett was nudging him to wake up as she rolled down the automatic window.

"They don't remember Castle being here," Esposito reported.

"The cab company looked up their records for me," Beckett said. "Castle asked to go to the Haunt according to the driver, but had the driver drop him off several blocks early."

"Why would I do that?" Castle asked, confused.

"Where did they drop him?" Ryan asked.

"Let's go look," she replied. "They gave me the intersection."

"They're sure?"

"They said they were."

It was more convenient for them to leave one car and go together so Esposito and Ryan got into the back of Beckett's car and they headed out of the parking lot and onto the street. Castle was watching out the window, willing himself to remember something – anything – when he suddenly did.

"Stop! There!"

He pointed at an alley as Beckett hit the brakes, startled. She parked – illegally – and looked over at Castle, who was already opening his door.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah."

He didn't wait for them, but he wasn't moving all that fast as banged up as he was, so they didn't have any trouble catching up. He led them into the alley, and looked around. There were several garbage cans, mostly full and overflowing, and the back doors to the various small businesses that lined the block – and the apartments above them. Heart thumping in his chest, he headed for the end of the alley, and one of the doors.

"Castle, wait…"

Beckett was a cop. As such, her training told her – _screamed_ at her, really – that an alley was the last place they wanted to rush into. Ryan and Esposito were just as cautious, and were even reaching for their weapons as they caught up to Castle just as he tried the door he was standing in front of. It opened, and the writer walked in, followed immediately by Beckett, who had drawn her gun, too. The door opened into a hall, the walls around them made of cinderblock and concrete instead of drywall. The lights were out and only the faint sunlight coming from the doorway illuminated the three doors that exited on the side, and showed them what might be another door at the end of the corridor.

"This is familiar," he said, turning toward Beckett even as he took another step or two into the hall. "I think I've been-"

A barrage of shots suddenly rang out, deafening them all with the shockingly loud noise and sending them all to the floor as bullets ricocheted around them.


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Note: This was ready this morning but the site wasn't working so I couldn't post it_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett's voice rang out into the hallway before the last echoes of the shots faded.

"_NYPD!"_ She turned, scrambling for the cover of the entrance, pulling Castle back with her as well as she could considering one hand held her gun. No more shots rang out, but she gestured for Esposito to go around to the front of the building one direction, while motioning for Ryan to go the other. They both nodded and took off, while Beckett knelt on Castle to hold him down and covered the exit to keep their gunman from escaping through their door. There was no way she was going to risk going into the corridor again until she knew it was safe.

A few minutes later – much sooner than she expected – she heard Esposito's voice from the other end of the hall.

"Clear!"

Ryan's followed almost right after.

"Clear!"

She looked down at Castle, concerned that he hadn't tried to struggle out from under him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"You?"

"Yeah."

Castle levered himself upright, and Beckett saw that he hadn't made it through _completely_ unscathed. Red flecks of blood smeared his neck and there were a couple of spots on his shirt that were ripped. She reached out before he could turn toward the hallway and pulled his shirt up.

"Hey! Not without a nice dinner…"

Beckett rolled her eyes, but ignored the banter in favor of checking the bloody marks on his chest.

"You don't hurt?"

"I _already_ hurt," he reminded her, looking down at his chest, too. "I didn't get shot…" He was sure he'd feel a lot worse than he did if he had a couple bullet wounds.

"No, they're ricochets," she told him, looking at the walls. "Either the bullets themselves or most likely concrete from where the bullets hit. You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." He reached out and touched her cheek, and then showed her his finger, which was also smeared crimson. "Looks like you got hit, too. You're sure you're okay?"

She nodded.

"I'm fine. Let's-"

"You guys okay?" Esposito asked from the doorway down at the end of the hall.

"Yeah."

"Then you need to come see this."

They walked down the hall to the door, and Esposito moved out of the way. As they passed him, Castle saw his face had been bloodied a bit by flying concrete as well. Beckett frowned, a silent questioning glance asking him if he was okay, and a very slight nod told her he was fine.

"What is this place?" Castle asked, looking around.

The room that opened to the hallway door was something like a cross between a living room and a storefront – which looked to specialize in pottery of all sorts. Many of the vases and bowls and flowerpots, however, were knocked from their displays and shattered. Three doors led off from this room; one went outside to the street and two went further into the building. There were two shop front windows, both of them were shattered, and people out on the street were looking in curiously, but in deference to the fact that there were three police officers in the main room, none of them tried to enter.

"Here," Ryan said, beckoning to them from one of the other doors.

Castle moved first, not noticing that Esposito had caught Beckett's eye once more. She couldn't read the expression on his face, though, she just recognized it as one of his more serious ones. He turned toward the other room and Beckett followed Castle to see what Ryan had found.

This new room was a bedroom. There was no doubt of that, since there was a bed dominating most of the small space. The place reeked, though, of all sorts of things better left unmentioned, and worse, sprawled on the bed was the naked and very still form of a woman. Her eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling, and the small trickle of blood that had trailed down to the bedspread from the bullet hole in her head was testimony that she wasn't going to be able to tell them what happened to her.

Beckett walked over, careful to not touch anything.

"She hasn't been dead very long," she decided, looking at the body.

"Probably shot by whoever shot at us," Ryan said. He was already on his phone, calling it in and asking for backup in order to help canvass the crowd outside the store. He looked over as Castle looked down at the woman, and then around the room. "You recognize her, Castle?"

The writer shook his head.

"I don't know. I don't think so…." He walked over to the other side of the bed, to the wall. It was white and covered in odd pictures, but he wasn't looking at the pictures, he was staring at the wall, intently. "I know _this_…"

"The wall?" Kate asked, confused. "What do you-"

He reached out and nudged a small spot on one of the pictures, and part of the wall sunk inward. He pushed again, this time against the wall itself, and it opened further, now a space plenty large enough for a person to walk through.

"Castle…" Beckett wasn't going to risk another shooter hiding in the room. She moved to stop him before he could head into the dark space, pulling her gun once more. Ryan was right there with her, his gun in hand as well, and he got hold of Castle's shirt and pulled him even further out of the way.

Beckett looked over at Ryan, who nodded to tell her he was ready, and then she walked through the entrance. It was dark – the only light came from the opening – but she could see that it wasn't very large, and it smelled terrible.

"NYPD," she announced into the silent darkness. "Is anyone there?"

Ryan walked in behind her, his gun pointing the opposite direction from hers, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.

"I don't see anyone."

Castle came up behind them, and without even realizing what he was doing, he reached out blindly and slapped a wall panel. Instantly the room lit up, and Beckett and Ryan both stepped back, stumbling over Castle, who hadn't moved, but was forced back by their actions.

"Oh, God…" Ryan murmured, looking around, aghast.

"What is this?" Kate asked, putting her gun away, since there was no way anyone was hiding there.

"This is the place," Castle said in a faint whisper. Beckett looked back at him, and found that he was as pale as she'd ever seen him, with beads of sweat on his upper lip and his expression suddenly bleak. "This is where I was…"


	13. Chapter 13

The room was small – a closet basically – and filthy. There was a wooden rod on the floor that was broken in half, but it didn't take a detective to see that it had once been stretched across the two wooden brackets that would normally have turned the wooden rod into a clothes hanger. Beside the broken rod was a set of old fashioned manacles with a long chain between each cuff and a padlock that had been left open. Beckett saw upon closer look that the padlock was a combination type and that it had obviously been used to keep the manacles closed and tightly pressed together.

She looked over at Castle, who hadn't made any move to enter the room.

"Someone had you tied here?"

He nodded, and turned away, obviously unable to look into the room. Of course, the dead woman on the bed wasn't any easier to look at, though. Beckett felt bad for him, because looking at the room it was obvious that _someone_ had been held there. It was definitely a small room and she couldn't imagine how scary it would be to be tied in there with the light off and in utter darkness.

"How did you get out, bro?" Esposito asked, just as the first of their backup arrived and started setting up a perimeter to keep bystanders out and evidence in.

Castle shook his head, looking at the woman on the bed with an odd expression. Esposito decided he was probably trying to figure out who she was or if he knew her.

"I'm not sure."

Kate went completely into the room and stood in the middle, looking around. Besides the manacles and wooden rod, there was evidence that someone had made an attempt to clean things up and maybe hide the fact that someone had been in the room. Obviously they weren't that good at it, though, because if Beckett wanted to hide that, the first thing she would have 'lost' would have been the manacles. The smell of human waste was overpowering, but there wasn't any evidence of any – aside from some stains on the floor, maybe. She'd have forensics go over the place and compare DNA from them to see if they matched Castle. He might think that he was here – and he definitely showed them that he knew there was a room behind the wall when none of them had even suspected it – she needed confirmation. Making a mental note, she put on a glove and knelt by the manacles. She didn't pick them up – there could be evidence, after all – but she wanted a better look at them.

"The padlock is unlocked, so unless you know how to open one without the combination someone helped you."

"I can open a combination lock without the combination," he said, absently. "If I have enough time and it isn't noisy."

Beckett looked over her shoulder at him, but he wasn't looking her way. She didn't have any reason to doubt his claim, though. He'd proven before that he was a man of many talents, after all.

"Probably had _plenty_ of time…" Esposito said, mostly to himself but loud enough for the others to hear.

"If the mess in this room is any indication," Beckett said, frowning and coming back out of the room, taking the glove off. "Do you recognize _any_ of this, Castle?"

Castle was watching as one of the newcomers started taking pictures of the body, while others searched for any evidence, weapons, and started asking questions of the people outside. Others would be getting evidence from the hallway where they'd all been shot at, looking to find out what kind of weapon had been used for future trial use – provided they find out who did the shooting. He didn't turn when she spoke to him.

"Castle?"

He turned at her call.

"Hmm?"

"Do you recognize any of this?"

"I don't know…"

He looked so tired and vulnerable that Beckett didn't press him just then. Instead, she caught Esposito's arm and told him to take over for her, and then she put her hand on Castle's back and led him out of the little room and into the main room with the broken crockery.

"Let's go get you checked out," she said, gesturing with her chin toward the ambulance that had pulled up out front.

He nodded and allowed her to steer him outside. The ambulance had been parked in a way that put the back of the vehicle against the alley, which was completely cordoned off. The two paramedics who were with the ambulance weren't needed for anything else, so both were available to check Castle. They sat him down on the back of the van and then had Beckett sit beside him since she was also bloodied by the ricochets. The one working on Castle pulled his shirt off and started cleaning him up without comment, while the one working on Beckett asked her if she had any injuries besides the ones on her face. It was the most delicate way he could ask if he needed to take her into the ambulance so she could take her shirt off, but she shook her head with a slight smile at his discomfiture and he started working on the scratches on her face.

It didn't take long since the injuries weren't serious and only required cleaning with an antibiotic cream. When they were done, Beckett asked them to go make sure that Esposito and Ryan were both okay, too, and the medics left the two sitting alone on the back edge of the van.

Kate sighed, and leaned slightly against Castle, who hadn't put his shirt on since he wasn't going to be able to do it on his own and the paramedic hadn't known he was going to need help. He was just holding it in his hands, and staring down at the ground, but when he felt her against him, he put his free hand on her thigh.

"You okay?" he asked.

Beckett nodded, squeezed his hand and then pulled it a little closer, and started examining his wrist.

"What are you looking for?" he asked, curiously.

"Comparing the width of the marks on your wrist to the size of the manacles in that room."

"Oh."

The listlessness in Castle's voice was a match for his expression and his body language.

"They look about right," Beckett said, reaching over and taking the other one in her hand as well to look at it also. "How do they feel?"

"They don't hurt."

Or they just didn't hurt as much as the rest of him did. Beckett let his hands go and nudged him with her elbow, gently.

"You know, I know this is rough on you," she told him. "If it gets to be too much just let me know and we'll step back for a while so you can catch your breath…"

He nodded, but before he could say anything, they were joined by Lanie.

"Sounds like you're _both_ lucky to be breathing at all," she said by way of greeting. "What happened?"

"We got shot at," Castle told her.

"I heard. Any idea why?"

"We're not sure, yet," Kate said. "But Castle led us here, and we almost certainly know where he's been the last couple of days, at least."

"And the dead body?" Lanie asked. "Anyone you know, Castle?"

"I don't recognize her," he said. Then he sighed. "It seems I've been saying that a lot lately."

"Have you had a chance to look at her?" Kate asked.

"Not yet. I wanted to check on you guys, first."

"We're okay. Just some scratches."

"I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."

"Thanks." Beckett looked over at Castle. "We need to find out who she is as soon as possible."

Lanie nodded.

"I know. I'll g work on that."

"And in the meantime, Beckett here will take Castle to a safe house."

They all turned at the sound of the new voice and saw that while they'd been talking Captain Montgomery had also joined them.

"Sir?"

"Question, Beckett?" he asked.

"Um… well… yes. Safe house?"

"We have two dead bodies and someone shooting at cops and until we know more, all we know for sure is that Castle's involved somehow. Presumably whoever held him here knew who he was and still held him. That means they almost certainly know his connection with you, and can find out where both of you live. So you and he are both going to be using a safe house until we get this mess figured out."

"I don't want to be more of a bother than I already have-"

"The Mayor will agree with me on this one, Castle," Montgomery interrupted.

"But-"

"You're not off the case, Beckett," he interrupted, knowing what her biggest argument would be. "But your primary responsibility will be Castle's safety – as well as your own."

"Yes, Sir."

"I'll tell Esposito and Ryan. You make the necessary arrangements."

"Yes, Sir."

Montgomery left, heading back to the murder scene with Lanie, and Beckett turned to Castle. She felt like she'd just been rolled over, but there wasn't much that she could do or say about it, and it actually made sense.

"Well, it looks like we'll both have a chance to step back – for a minute, anyway."

"Yeah."


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Note: lol, yeah, a safe house for the two of them. Does it mean a little Caskett time? Most likely. But they have a mystery to solve, too!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett was quiet as she drove Castle to his place. He watched her surreptitiously on the way, but she was staring ahead at the road, both hands on the wheel and probably wouldn't have noticed if he had stared at her the entire way. After several minutes of silence he cleared his throat, self-consciously.

"I'm sorry."

She looked over at him, surprised at the apology.

"For what?"

"Getting you stuck in a safe house and forced away from the case."

Beckett shook her head, and reached out with her hand and touched his elbow for just a moment before turning her attention back to the road and her hand back on the steering wheel.

"None of this is your fault, Castle."

"It _might_ be," he countered. "We don't know for sure what I had to do with any of it."

"Well, if it turns out that you are responsible then you can apologize then, okay? Until then we'll wait and see what we find out."

"Okay." He was quiet for a moment, but then his curiosity got the better of him. "So… _Safe house_, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Like in the movies?"

"Not usually, no. Normally we'd put a witness or a potential witness or person of interest who isn't a suspect up in a hotel – usually a suite or something similar where there isn't a lot of access so we can control who is coming and going. In _your_ case, though, we're not going to be able to do that."

"Why?"

"Because _you're_ well known enough that people will talk about you being there, which defeats the purpose of trying to put you out of the way. So we'll go a more traditional route and hide you in an actual safe house. While we're getting our things together, they'll be getting it set up and stocked for us." She paused, and then looked over at him again. "It might not be a bad idea to call your mom and have her stay on the west coast until we figure this out."

"You think?"

She nodded.

"They're out of town already, so it couldn't work better, really. They were supposed to be gone for a few days, just see about having them extend it a few more days."

"I don't want them to worry…"

"Then don't tell them," she suggested. "Just tell them to check out more schools so they don't have to go back later."

He didn't look too convinced, but he shrugged.

"That's a good idea. I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off without making mother suspicious but I'll try."

"Good." They were just pulling into the parking garage of his building and she found a spot by the elevator. "Make sure you get enough stuff for at least a few day, okay?"

"Okay."

"And if we see anyone, you don't tell them that you're going to be gone," she told them as they waited for the elevator. "We don't want people to know anything is going on."

"Gotcha." The elevator opened and no one was in it. Castle noticed that Beckett had her hand near her weapon as they got in and on the ride up. "Are you expecting trouble?" he asked, wondering if she knew something he didn't.

"We were here yesterday and everything seemed fine," she said. "But it doesn't hurt to be ready."

Which he had to admit made sense. When the elevator stopped, she went first, and she was the one who opened his door and walked in first. He hesitated just long enough to let her know that he respected that she wanted to make sure the place was safe for him and then he followed her in and closed the door behind them.

"Anything look different than when you left?" she asked him.

He looked around the living room and then did a quick check through the rest of the house with her trailing him.

"It looks okay," he told her, stopping at his bedroom.

"Good." Beckett noticed he looked at his bed a little longer than he had any other place in the entire loft, and figured he was tired enough that it looked inviting. Time enough for him to sleep when they got him settled, though. "Need any help getting your stuff together?"

He shook his head and went to the closet to get a bag and hesitated at the door. She caught the hesitation immediately, of course, and walked over, thinking that he might have seen something that didn't belong. Then she saw how pale he was and she realized that his walk in closet wasn't that much different than the room that he'd apparently been held in. No wonder he'd hesitated. She stopped beside him, and put her hand on the small of his back.

"Why don't you tell me what you want and let me get it for you?" she suggested. "Your shoulders must be killing you and reaching up to the shelves isn't going to help them feel any better."

Castle frowned, surprised by the offer and then his expression softened almost immediately when he realized what had prompted it.

"No. Thanks, Kate, but I'll do it. I can't be afraid of my closet."

"It'd be completely understandable," she told him.

He shook his head.

"It's all right."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Twenty minutes later they were at her place. He'd filled a small duffel bag with enough clothes for a few days and some toiletries and had called his mother with his phone plugged into the charger. The call had been relatively brief but he'd seemed to have been able to convince them to stay a couple more days on the west coast. He'd packed his charger as well and they'd locked his place up and left. Now she was doing pretty much the same thing, only without the call to his mother. She chose casual clothing, knowing that they weren't going to be going anywhere exciting, and then to his surprise had taken the clothing that he'd been wearing when she'd discovered him at her place the night before and had put them in a couple of plastic bags.

"What are you doing with those?" he asked.

"They're evidence, now," she replied. "Before, you were just a guy who got in a fight. Now we need to see if we can match DNA on these clothes to anything in the room where we found the dead woman. Then we'll have proof that it's connected. I'll have one of the guys take them to the forensics people and see what they can find."

"Oh."

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

OOOOOOOOOOO

The safe house turned out to actually _be_ a house. It was small, and made of brick, tucked into a very quiet neighborhood and set back from the street by a very large yard that was fully fenced and secured. A driveway led to a connected garage and there was a gate across the entranceway. The gate opened automatically and Beckett drove the car up and into the garage, closing it behind them before telling Castle it was okay to get out.

"We'll have a police car making a regular patrol around the clock," she told him. "And several panic buttons available if we need to use them. This place is pretty much off the grid, though, so it should be fine."

"You'll be here most of the time?"

"I'll be here all the time," she replied. "If we get a lead that the guys need me for, I'll make the call whether to take you with us or call someone to come stay with you. Most likely you'll be safe with us. Hopefully."

They had already been shot at, after all.

Castle didn't look concerned. More relieved than anything. The garage opened into the kitchen which had one window that was covered with a dark curtain and the basic needs that one would normally find in a kitchen. The living room was fairly plain, as well. A flatscreen TV on the wall, a single couch and against the far wall a table with four chairs around it. There were two windows, both also covered by heavy dark curtains, and a front door that didn't look like it had ever been opened.

"Two bedrooms?" Castle asked, looking into the bathroom and then the only other door, which led to a bedroom.

"Nope. Just the one."

"Rock paper scissors?"

Beckett smiled.

"We'll see."


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's note: my house is only a one bedroom. They do exist! Honestly I know very little about safe houses so I am working on the premise that they wouldn't want any more rooms than necessary because that's less rooms to secure. Please don't correct me if you know more about them and I'm wrong._

OOOOOOOOO

Castle arched an eyebrow at that, but he didn't comment. There was a definite challenge in her expression and he wasn't feeling up to any real verbal sparring just then – even with her. Instead, he dropped his bag on the floor of the living room and started looking around, simply because he'd never been in a safe house before and he wanted to see what kind of things could be found in one.

"No phone?" he asked, looking around.

"No." Beckett had put her bag on the table and the bags with the clothes he'd been wearing on the floor next to it. "It _has_ a phone line, to keep it from looking suspicious since when we started using it, everyone pretty much had a phone, but we'll be using cells so we rarely need an actual land line."

"Huh."

She smiled, knowing that he was storing that information away – possibly for future use in one of his novels. He probably didn't even realize he was doing it. Castle headed toward the cupboard, probably to see what there was to eat, when a soft beep made Beckett turn.

"What was that?" Castle asked.

"Perimeter alarm. Someone is coming in."

"How do we-" he stopped when she picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The screen showed a view of a car pulling up the driveway. They both recognized Esposito behind the wheel with Ryan in the passenger seat. "Nice."

"Yeah. The cameras are infrared, too, so we'll be able to keep track of things at night, too."

"Can we watch the neighbors that way?"

She rolled her eyes.

"No."

They watched as the guys got out of the car and walked up to the front door. There were several different camera angles showing on the screen – obviously no one was going to sneak up on them – and two showed the front door from different positions. Castle opened the door before they could knock and all three detectives scowled at him.

"The guy in protection doesn't open the door, Castle," Ryan told him as they walked in. "We could have been hit men."

"I saw you on the camera," he replied, pointing at the TV.

"Don't open the door," Esposito said. "Ever."

"Fine. Sorry."

Beckett closed the door behind them.

"What did you guys learn?"

"Not much yet," Esposito told her. "Victim is the owner of the shop – and lived there, too. The guy who lives above her says that she had a roommate – husband, boyfriend, he wasn't sure – and that there had been a lot of arguing the last few days."

"Do we know where the roommate is?"

Esposito shook his head.

"We didn't see anything in the place with a name – but there are a couple of pictures on the woman's cell. Forensics guys will go through it, and we'll see if we can get hold of the property management people and see what name is on the lease."

"Good."

"They're going over that place with a fine toothed comb," he told her and Castle, both. "If there's something to find, they'll find it. And we'll let you know as soon as they do."

Beckett picked up the bag with the clothes she'd taken from her bathroom.

"Castle was wearing these when he ended up at my place. He says they're not his, so have them tested, will you?"

"Sure."

Ryan took the bag and looked around.

"You need us to stay here with you guys?"

"I'd rather you were running the investigation."

He nodded.

"Montgomery had them bring out the usual items for the kitchen and such so you don't starve, but we figured you'd want more than the basics, so we brought some extra stuff for you. It's out in the car."

Castle smiled.

"Steaks?"

"Yeah."

"I'll help you bring it-"

"You'll stay inside," Beckett interrupted. "Esposito and I will get it."

OOOOOOOOO

"So you really want to stay here with Castle instead of run the investigation?" Esposito asked as they walked out to the car. "I mean, Ryan and I can take turns staying with him and free you up."

Beckett shook her head, looking through the bags before she picked up a couple.

"Castle's got information in his head that we need, and is really not in much shape to give it to us just now. Hopefully I'll be able to help him work through that while we're stuck here."

"He looks like crap."

"Yeah, I know."

Esposito shrugged. He knew as well as anyone that Castle would respond best to her. He picked up all the bags that she hadn't taken and used his hip to close the door of the car.

"So… one bed…"

Beckett rolled her eyes at his amused look, and turned to head for the front door.

Men.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The guys didn't stay. Almost as soon as Beckett and Esposito dropped the bags on the counter in the kitchen, they excused themselves to get back to the investigation, leaving Beckett and Castle to unpack the groceries alone.

"How long until we find out about her?" Castle asked, putting a loaf of bread into the cupboard and picking up a couple of cans of stew.

Beckett checked her watch, not surprised that it was well past noon and nearing the end of the regular work day.

"Probably not until tomorrow. Lanie might get her examination done today but there's no way the labs will be in so quickly." She reached over and took the cans from him. "Why don't you do sit down, Castle? You look beat."

"I'm okay."

She smiled when she heard his stomach growl.

"You're tired and hungry and probably pretty sore," she said. "I know if the situation were reversed and it were me in your shoes, you'd be insisting. So I'm going to insist. Let me take care of you, okay?"

He hesitated, meeting her gaze for a long moment before he finally nodded.

"Okay."

"What do you want for dinner?" she asked him.

"Anything."

"I can probably handle that."

He smiled, his tired eyes lighting up for a moment, and he brushed his fingers against her hand for just a moment.

"You'll call if you need help?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

He left the kitchen to her and went into the living room. With a brief glance at the bedroom, he decided that he'd be better company on the couch where he could at least chat with her even if she wasn't going to let him help cook. Picking up the remote, he flopped down on the couch and leaned back with a tired groan.

And was asleep almost immediately.


	16. Chapter 16

"Castle?"

There was no response from the man sleeping on the couch, so Beckett tried again.

"Castle?"

Still no response. Under normal circumstances, she'd let him sleep, but she knew he needed something to eat, so Beckett sat down beside him, her leg tucked up under her, and leaned over until she was right against him and her chin practically resting on his shoulder – although she was careful not to put any pressure where she might cause him pain.

"Rick?"

The whisper was right in his ear, and she'd purposely made her voice sultry and lower than normal. Whether it was the use of his first name, or the breathy sound so close to his ear, he stirred just a little.

"Hmmm?"

Beckett smiled, bringing her hand up to run her fingers through his hair – again being careful not to hurt him. She wanted him awake, not miserable.

"Hey, wake up for me, will you?"

"I'm sleepy…"

"I know. But I need you to eat."

"Hmmm?"

"Wake up and eat for me, Rick."

He opened his eyes, and she smiled. He looked sleepy and absolutely adorable. And a little confused to have her so close to him.

"Kate?"

"Yeah."

He didn't move his head, but she saw him look around a little before returning his gaze to hers.

"I'm sleepy."

She nodded.

"I know. But I need you to eat."

"Can't I sleep first?"

He closed his eyes, more than ready to make the word into an action, but Beckett reached out and touched her finger to his nose. Which was odd enough to make him open his eyes again.

"I need you to eat," she repeated. "If you don't eat now, you're going to be miserable later. Eat now and you'll probably be able to sleep all night."

"I'm miserable already," he reminded her, a little more awake than he had been. "Remember?"

"I know. Eat your dinner and I'll let you go back to sleep."

He sighed and nodded, forcing himself upright a little more.

"Can you make it to the table or should I bring it to you?"

"I'll go to the table," he said, still mostly asleep but trying to force himself awake, now. He rubbed his face and winced because it really hurt to do that. The pain woke him even more, though, and he looked over at the table and then at her. "What's for dinner?"

"I made burgers."

"Yeah?"

She got up and pulled him to his feet, but she didn't let go of his hand as she led him over to the table and got him settled into one of the chairs. There were plates on the counter by the stove, and the sink was filled with soapy water and had a dish strainer near at hand.

"Yeah. Are you going to be able to stay awake long enough to eat?"

He nodded, breathing in deeply of the smell of their dinner.

"Yes."

"Good." Beckett went over to the stove and returned with a couple of plates. She placed one in front of him, and put the other in her place. On the plate was a hamburger with cheese and all the toppings he liked on his burgers, with homemade French fries and some potato salad. She left and returned a moment later with a glass of iced tea for both of them and sat down across from him. "There's another in there for you if you make it through that one."

Castle mumbled something that sounded like 'it smells delicious' and started eating, hungrily enough to make her glad that she'd gone to the extra effort to make the meal. (She _had_ been thinking of simply making sandwiches and potato salad) She started eating, too, with just much enthusiasm – although she did chew her food rather than wolf it down.

"Did you hear anything, yet?" he asked her, looking up from his almost finished burger. He noticed that her hair was damp and she was wearing casual lounging pants and a sweatshirt. Obviously she'd decided to take a shower while he'd been sleeping.

"I heard from Lanie. She's pretty sure they'll have an ID on the woman by morning, and wanted to make sure that I was taking good care of you. So make sure the next time you see her that you tell her I made you dinner, okay?"

He smiled.

"I will."

She reached for her phone, flipped through it a moment and then handed it over to him.

"Do you recognize this man?"

He took the phone and looked at the picture that was on the display. And before he could even think, he nodded.

"That's Jeremy."

Beckett looked surprised.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. I mean… I know his name is Jeremy."

"How do you know him?"

"I don't."

"But you know his name?"

"Yeah. Who is he?"

"We're not sure. We think the dead woman's boyfriend. Know his last name?"

Castle thought about it but then had to shake his head.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. It's more than we knew." She noticed he'd already almost finished eating what she'd put in front of him. "Do you want another burger?"

He hesitated, and then shook his head. "No. Thanks." Any more and he'd make himself sick. He finished off the last of his dinner and took his plate to the sink. To her surprise, he started washing the dishes in the sink, rather than return to the couch.

"I can do that."

He looked over at her and shrugged.

"You cooked."

Which made her smile. She turned her attention back to finishing her meal, and then called Esposito and told him that Castle had recognized the guy in the picture as a man named Jeremy and suggested he have them look through the woman's phone for a number for someone named Jeremy. After she hung up with him, she brought her plate over and put it in the sink.

Castle looked entirely at home washing the dishes, and not at all like the ultra famous writer who ate at first class restaurants and stayed at classy four-star hotels. Beckett pulled the dishtowel from where he'd draped it over his shoulder and started drying the dishes that he'd put into the drainer.

"How did you sleep?" she asked as they worked side-by-side cleaning what little mess had been made.

"Good."

"Any dreams?"

"No."

He sounded relieved, and she couldn't blame him, considering the way he'd woken earlier. He certainly had looked like he was sleeping soundly.

"How are you feeling?"

"I ache, but no worse than before, and I'm not as tired as I was." He smiled over at her. "_And_ I'm pleasantly full."

Which made her smile, and she finished drying the last dish while he emptied the water from the sink and wiped it down. When the kitchen was cleaned, they both carried their tea over to the couch and sat down. Beckett leaned over him and picked up the remote from where it had been dropped when he'd fallen asleep and turned on the TV.

"Tell me there's cable…"

"There is." She smiled. "It's better than spying on the neighbors."


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: Tried to put it up earlier, but I couldn't log in!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

A faint noise woke Beckett. Nothing odd enough to make her come awake immediately, just a noise. She stretched, warm and comfortable and not quite ready to wake fully. Then she frowned, because the room was dark and she was in a bed. She stretched again and rolled over onto her back to stare up at a ceiling she couldn't quite see. She couldn't remember going to bed. For that matter, she didn't remember falling asleep. She thought back. Dinner was easy to remember, and she was pretty sure she remembered her and Castle sitting on the couch munching on popcorn while they watched TV, but then things got a little fuzzy and she realized she must have fallen asleep. But she didn't remember going to bed no matter how hard she concentrated. Awake enough now to realize that the room wasn't completely dark – there was a strip of light coming from the partially opened door – she pushed off the blankets and rolled out of bed.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she walked out into the living room to check on Castle. The writer wasn't asleep. For that matter, he wasn't even on the couch. Beckett found him standing in front of the flat screen, holding a cup of coffee and staring at the TV. A quick glance told her that he was watching the video feed and not a show on one of the channels.

"Castle?"

He looked over and flashed her a smile.

"You're awake."

She nodded, fighting back a yawn.

"What time is it?"

He didn't mention she had a watch on. Instead, he looked at the screen.

"About 2am."

"Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep."

Beckett frowned at that. He certainly _looked_ tired. All the good that his earlier nap seemed to do for him was pretty much washed away, because he had dark circles under his eyes. He had, however, changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweats.

"What time did I fall asleep?"

"About ten or so."

Which was far earlier than she normally did – but she hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before, so it made sense.

"I don't remember going to bed."

Now his smile was a little more like his old self.

"_I_ put you to bed. I don't think you woke up at all."

"You carried me?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"That must have hurt your arms."

He shook his head.

"My shoulders hurt when I try to lift my hands above my head. I wasn't bench pressing you, just carrying you. Didn't hurt at all."

He didn't mention that he'd rather enjoyed it.

She walked over and stood beside him, trying to think of something to say to that. Since nothing came to mind, she decided to change the subject.

"What are you doing? Spying on the neighbors?"

Castle shook his head.

"The cameras don't go into their yards. Although a couple of the neighborhood cats have been roaming back and forth through the yard – and I think I saw a bat, but it was going pretty fast, so I could be wrong."

"What are you looking for, then?"

"Nothing. Just watching the night go by and thinking…" He looked over at her. "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"I should check in with the precinct."

"The patrol guys are coming by at irregular times every 12 minutes or so," he told her, gesturing to the camera feed. "They don't stop, though, they just slow down."

"They're supposed to be circumspect," she said.

"They are."

They stood there side by side for a moment, and then Beckett went and made her phone call and found that they didn't have any new information on either the case of the dead man with Castle's wallet, or the woman – although Esposito had left her a message advising they'd be by the next morning for some follow up.

"I think Jeremy is a doctor," Castle told her when she got off the phone. He didn't look away from the screen, and she could see his jaw tighten just a little.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, curiously, coming back over to stand with him again – this time with a cup of coffee.

He shook his head.

"I remember seeing someone in a doctor's outfit – I think it was him."

"With a white lab coat?" Beckett asked. "Or scrubs?"

"Scrubs."

"Then he might not _actually_ be a doctor," she pointed out. "He could be a nurse, or a radiologist, or even a janitor, maybe."

Castle shrugged his acceptance of that.

"Maybe."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Flashes of darkness, pain… yelling… Jeremy mostly, but a woman, too…"

"The dead woman?"

He shook his head, refusing to look from the screen he was staring at without seeing it.

"I don't know. It's all a jumbled mess, and every time I close my eyes all I see is darkness…"

Which explained why he wasn't even trying to sleep. Like his friend Doctor Cutter had told him, his mind was trying to remember. Obviously they _weren't_ fun memories. Beckett reached over and took his coffee cup from him and set both hers and his down on the table.

"You don't have to face them alone, you know. I'm here."

"It's not something you can help me with, Kate," he said, his eyes bleak, now, as he realized the truth in that statement. "Until I figure out what I don't remember, it's so chaotic that I-"

"I _can_ help you," she told him. "Not with the memories, maybe, but the thing you need most is sleep. Things won't look as bad if you're not reeling from lack of sleep, and that would be a good start. Right?"

"I'm not tired," he said, stubbornly.

"Yes, you are." She took his hand. "Come with me, Castle."

She felt just a bit of hesitation, but he didn't pull his hand from hers, and he didn't plant his feet, so he was forced to follow her as she walked back to the bedroom. She turned on the light with her free hand, and only then did he stop, his grip on her hand tightening.

"Kate…"

"I'll be here," she promised, pulling him to the bed and pushing him down onto it. "You won't be alone like you were."

He shook his head, and she couldn't miss the frightened look in his expression. She decided that he must have tried sleeping when she had – or maybe he'd fallen asleep around the same time she had – and had had some kind of nightmare. Something nasty enough to literally make him scared to go back to sleep.

"I'll just go to the couch," he said. "It's no big deal. I'll-"

"Hey." Beckett stopped his protest by putting her finger against his lips. Simple, but extremely effective. "Lay down."

Castle clearly didn't want to, but he did. He positioned the pillows that she'd abandoned only a short time before so that he was more sitting up than laying down, but Beckett wasn't going to quibble with him about that. She gave him an encouraging smile and reached out to brush his hair back from his forehead with her hand. She wasn't too surprised that he was sweating. It was all nerves, she knew. He positioned himself on his side, probably to ease the ache on his bruises. Beckett settled in beside him, _above_ the blankets, of course, but it was warm enough that she didn't really need to be covered up.

"This is a _bad_ idea, Kate…" he told her, his tired gaze locking on hers.

"The two of us in bed together, you mean?" she asked, hoping to tease a little of that tension away.

"No. That will never be a bad thing." He sighed, and relaxed marginally into the pillow, too tired to stay as tense as he was. "This whole thing is crazy…"

"I know." Beckett reached for his hand and squeezed it. "We'll get through it, though. You'll see."

He kept hold of her hand, unwilling to let go just then. She was a lot steadier than he was and he knew it. If she was willing to share that confidence with him, he'd accept it. Gratefully. But he knew that she wasn't going to be able to save him from his own memories. _That_ was something he was going to have to get through on his own, and he knew that it meant facing them eventually. Not right then – he wasn't ready to even try – but morning would be soon enough, hopefully.

"Maybe tomorrow I can look through some mug shots or something," he said, feeling her brush her fingers against his cheek with her free hand. It was reassuring and he blinked. Once, twice, and a third time. Each a little longer than the one before. "I might see someone I recognize."

"We can try that," she murmured, watching the tension drain out of him as he tried to think of ways he could help. He was falling asleep in the middle of the conversation, and she was going to try to make it happen as effortlessly as possible for him. "It certainly couldn't hurt."

His eyes closed, but opened almost immediately, and he started to jerk awake, but she made a soothing sound and continued to caress his cheek and then his temple with her fingers. He relaxed again, and his eyes closed again.

"You won't leave me?" he mumbled.

"No," she promised him in a soft whisper. "I won't leave you. Sleep, Rick. I'll keep the dreams away."

"It's dark…" he murmured, not opening his eyes, now.

"I'm here."

With that reassurance, he sighed again, and fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

When Castle woke next the sliver of outside that could be seen around the heavy curtain had started to lighten the room a little. He didn't move, waiting until his tired mind told him where he was and reminded him of why he was there. Only then did he stir, slightly, and when he did, Beckett did, her arms automatically tightening a little around him and her hand coming up to cup his cheek.

"It's okay," she whispered, not quite awake. "I'm here…"

His heart skipped a beat at the concern in her voice – even sleepy as it was – and he turned his head to look at her. She was cradling his head and shoulders against her own body, his cheek pressed against the gentle swell of her breast in a position that was far more intimate than any other they'd ever shared, and his arm draped over her stomach, holding her in a light embrace. He felt his heart seem to skip another beat, not for the same reason, and he closed his eyes for just a moment to allow himself that intimacy that she normally wouldn't be comfortable with. Her hand brushed his cheek again, and she murmured another reassurance, but she definitely wasn't awake.

He couldn't remember any bad dreams, though – at least not once she'd forced him to go to bed – so she'd been able to keep them away like she'd promised, and he felt pretty good for having had a chance to get some real sleep. He'd have to think of some way to thank her for that once the whole mess was figured out. As it was, though, he needed to get up and take a shower and maybe he'd even make her breakfast.

The moment he moved away from her, though, it woke her completely, and her eyes opened. He could see the concern in them – especially as close as he was to her – and he gave her his best smile to tell her that he was okay.

"Good morning, Detective," he murmured.

Beckett frowned, and he could tell the moment she realized the position they were in, because she tensed for just a moment before she relaxed again. Of course, he didn't have his head against her, or his arm around her, so it wasn't as close as it had been a minute before.

"Are you okay, Castle?" she asked, and to his delight she brushed his hair back from his forehead. Maybe she wasn't as awake as he thought she was?

"Yes. Thanks to you." Now she flushed just a little, almost certainly at the tone he'd used, but he ignored it so she could, and he leaned over and pressed the gentlest of kisses against her temple before pulling away completely, with a groan of pain at the aches in his body. "I'm going to go take a shower…"

"You can't," she told him, sitting up. "You'll get your stitches wet."

"A bath, then," he compromised. He'd seen the tub and it was big enough to soak for a while. "Do you want the bathroom before I hog it?"

She nodded and stretched, and then rolled away from him and out of bed. Castle lay back against the pillows and watched her leave the room before he looked at his watch. It was only a bit after 6am, so there was a lot of morning still ahead of them. He didn't know what kind of morning routine she had, but he liked to take his time waking up. However, he _did_ want to make breakfast so she wouldn't think that the cooking was something he expected her to do, so he rolled out of bed, too. With a lot more creaking and groaning and even mumbled swearing than she'd managed it with.

By the time Beckett came out of the bathroom, Castle had a pot of coffee going and was rifling through the fridge. He looked up when she came into the kitchen.

"Eggs?"

"Sure."

"Scrambled?"

"Okay."

"Bacon?"

"Yes."

"Hash browns?"

"Toast?"

"Okay."

He waved her out of the kitchen and with a smile she let him. Instead, she went to the TV and turned it on to a morning news program before walking over and sitting down at the kitchen table.

"You look better today," she noted. "How do you feel?"

"I ache a bit," he admitted. "But my head doesn't hurt like it did and only my arms feel like they're going to fall off, now."

"Good." She watched him crack the eggs and scramble them with some milk and other ingredients before putting them on the stove. "Do you want any help?"

"I'm good. Thanks."

"Do I have time to shower?"

"Sure."

"You're okay?" she asked, and this time she wasn't talking about needing help in the kitchen.

Castle nodded, his expression unreadable just then – or maybe she just wasn't awake enough yet to understand what it was telling her – and he shooed her away from the kitchen with a soft smile.

"I'm fine, Kate. Go ahead."

Beckett went and gathered some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. She didn't take as long as she normally would have – cold breakfast aside, she didn't know how much hot water there was and wanted to save some for Castle's bath – but she did feel pretty good when she finally came out, dressed and ready for the day.

Castle was just getting breakfast on the table, and he poured her a cup of coffee and set it down in front of her when she sat down.

"Thank you."

He smiled, and gave her a little bow.

"You're welcome."

Beckett already knew that he was a pretty good cook, so she wasn't surprised that breakfast was delicious. She ate hungrily, enjoying the fact that it wasn't a roll and a cup of coffee – her normal weekday fare – but she also watched him to make sure he was eating well, too. He was moving slowly, and it was obvious that his shoulders were causing him some trouble, but he ate what he'd dished himself, and even managed seconds.

"Did Esposito and Ryan say what time they were going to come over?" he asked, refilling her coffee cup.

She shook her head.

"Probably after nine or so. You have plenty of time to soak in the tub."

"Sounds good."

"Are you done eating?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then go ahead and go take your bath. I'll clean up the dishes."

"You don't mind?"

"No."

Castle didn't argue with her – which told her that he really wanted a chance to get clean. Instead, he got a change of clothes from his bag and headed for the bathroom. Beckett heard the water running, and finished her coffee while she waited for his tub to fill. Only then did she make a dishful of hot, soapy water. She did the dishes and put them away, and then went into the bedroom and made the bed and straightened up a little before going to the couch to watch the morning news programs.

More than an hour after he'd gone into the bathroom Beckett heard some splashing and a curse. She winced, figuring that he had just dragged himself out of the tub using those sore arms. She heard more splashing, and another curse and a little more splashing. Frowning, she got up and went to the bathroom door, knocking on it lightly.

"Castle? You okay?"

"Yeah." The voice on the other side of the door didn't sound okay. It sounded annoyed and frustrated.

More splashing, and now that she was close enough to hear better, she also heard a groan and another curse.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

There was a long moment of silence, and a little more splashing, and then she heard another groan, this one just as frustrated if not more.

"I can't get out of the tub."


	19. Chapter 19

"What?"

"I can't get myself out of the bathtub."

This time the voice was even more chagrined, and Beckett couldn't help but grin – especially since she was on the other side of the door and he couldn't see it.

"Really?"

"It's not funny, Kate."

He might not have been able to see her, but he'd had no trouble hearing the amusement in her voice.

"The guys should be here in a little while. One of them-"

"Do you know how much crap I'll get from them if they have to help me out of the tub?" he interrupted. "Come on. Help me out, here."

"I'm not going in there."

"Please?"

"No. Castle, you're in the _tub_ and I'm not-"

"I'm covered up," he told her. "Please? I'm getting wrinkly."

Beckett sighed, and cracked open the door but didn't look in.

"Fine. Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes or I won't help you out of the tub."

"Why do _I_ have to close _my_ eyes?" he asked, "_I'm_ the naked one."

"I'm not going to let you see me see you naked, Castle. Close your eyes or I'm not coming in."

It was his turn to sigh.

"Fine. They're closed."

Only when she'd peeked around the door and saw that they really _were_ closed did she actually open it and enter the bathroom. The tub was still mostly full of water and the floor around it was wet from him splashing. A glance showed her that a washcloth had been strategically placed in his lap, so he wasn't completely naked, but she made sure to look everywhere but there as she tried to figure out how she was supposed to lever him out of the tub.

"Drain the water out of the tub, Castle," she told him, not at all willing to reach for the plug herself.

He did what she told him and they both listened to the gurgling sound as the water emptied.

"Now what?" he asked, when he felt the water level lower and heard the gurgling stop. It was really hard to keep his eyes closed in such a vulnerable position, and only the fact that he trusted her completely (and really wanted her assistance) kept them tightly closed.

"Just hold still a moment," he heard her say. A moment later he felt a towel drying his shoulders, back and the area under his arms. "And keep that towel in place."

He checked blindly to make sure that the washcloth hadn't moved, and felt her hand on his shoulder supporting her as she stepped into the tub behind him.

"Um…"

"Just lever yourself up while I pull on you and between us we should be able to get you out."

"I'll give you anything you want," he promised her gratefully. "Jewelry, a car – a _pony_?"

"Just get ready," Beckett told him, still amused enough not to be annoyed. It had been a long time since she'd wanted a pony.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind, counted aloud to three and then heaved while he levered himself as much as his shoulders would allow. It was enough to get his legs under him and a moment later he was standing – and she let him go as soon as she was sure he wasn't going to slip and maybe fall.

"Lost the washcloth," he told her, his eyes still tightly closed – which was a good thing because she could hear the amusement in his tone and knew there'd have been an equally amused gleam in his eyes – and maybe a challenge as well.

"I know." She stepped out of the tub and reached for the bath towel he'd hung next to hers and put it in his hand. The one that hadn't taken the place of the washcloth. "I'm out of here."

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it," she told him as she closed the door behind her. "_Ever._" she muttered, much softer.

"I heard that."

Beckett smiled and shook her head. Awkward moment aside, she was glad that he seemed to be feeling a little better. _And_ a little voice in her head pointed out that he had a cute rear. Before she could follow that particular thought any further, there was a soft beep from the perimeter alarm that derailed that particular train of thought. She looked at the screen and saw that Esposito's car was pulling up the driveway.

"Castle, the guys are here."

There was a grumbled curse from the other side of the door that made her smile again and she went to start another pot of coffee.

OOOOOOOOOO

By the time Ryan and Esposito had entered the house and settled at the kitchen table with a cup of very fresh coffee, Castle came out of the bathroom dressed and looking ready for his day. Of course, none of them knew what the day was going to bring.

"Morning Castle."

The writer nodded at both of them and then looked at the small file that was sitting on the table.

"Did you find anything?"

"Still no ID on the dead guy with your wallet," Ryan said. "The woman is Linda Swartz and the people we've canvassed think that the missing boyfriend is named Andrew. We don't have a last name, yet. Still waiting to hear from the property management company."

"No." Castle opened the file and found the picture they'd taken off the dead woman's cell. "His name's Jeremy."

"No one mentioned that name," Esposito said. "And we didn't find that name in her contact list on her phone."

"Didn't find an Andrew in her phone, either, though," Ryan added.

Beckett looked over at Castle.

"How do you know his name is Jeremy, Castle? Do you remember?"

Castle frowned, his eyes going blank as he tried to get information from a mind that was normally so cooperative. Finally, he just had to shake his head.

"I don't know. I heard it, I think."

"Did you hear the dead woman call him that?"

"I heard it," he repeated. "I can't say who said it, because all I remember is that damn room. I don't remember _going_ there, and I don't remember _leaving_ it, but I know I was there, and I know I heard yelling."

"We're going to confirm that you were there," Esposito said. "But it definitely seems like you must have been."

"Why would someone kidnap you and not ask for a ransom?" Beckett asked.

Castle shrugged.

"Too bad we can't take you back to the scene of the crime," Ryan said. "Maybe it would jar something."

"We can't do that," Beckett said, immediately. "Not until we know who shot at us and make sure it doesn't happen again…"

"Right."

"But we can put you to work looking through mug shots and see if you can find this guy with an actual name we can confirm," Esposito added. "If you're willing to try."

"Sure."

It would give him a chance to feel like he was contributing.


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note: sorry, holiday weekend stuff keeping me from posting!_

OOOOOOOOO

They arrived at the precinct only half an hour later or so, and Beckett seated Castle at her desk instead of the chair he normally sat in beside it. Mainly because he was going to need her computer. Despite the term 'mugbook', they had a large database of their bad guys on file now. They still _had_ the books, but the computer made everything a lot faster, since they could manually put in all the attributes of the person that they were looking for and the computer would sort for them until all Castle would be looking at were men of that age group (which they weren't completely sure of so it was a bit larger than they might normally need), height, weight, coloring and other descriptions.

Montgomery hung out by the desk while they got him set up, and then with a jerk of his chin motioned for Beckett to join him in his office. She nodded, put a hand of Castle's hand to get his attention and told him she'd be right back.

He nodded and turned back to the computer, while Beckett went to Montgomery's office and closed the door quietly behind her.

"How's he doing?"

"His memory is full of holes," she replied. "But he's remembering a few things."

"Anything that will help?"

She shrugged.

"_He_ seems to think that we have the wrong name for the person of interest in the shooting."

"Oh?"

"_We're_ looking for an Andrew, he's sure the guy's name is _Jeremy_."

Montgomery turned and looked out the window at where Castle was sitting.

"We're _sure_ he was in that little room?"

"The forensics people are going to confirm it, but he found it, so I have to assume he knew it was there because he'd been there."

"Then it's possible that he heard someone – the dead woman, perhaps – call the suspect by a different name?"

"Yeah. Which is why we have him looking for the guy by his physical appearances and not by his name."

"_And_ it'll give him something to keep him occupied…" Montgomery added.

Beckett nodded with a slight smile.

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"And it will give you a break from him?"

She shrugged, turning back to her Captain.

"No, not really. But this _is_ the safest place I could put him while I go back and look at that room."

"I can keep him occupied," Montgomery promised.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Keep me appraised, Beckett."

"I will."

She left the office and headed for the break room and prepared coffee for both of them before returning to her desk.

"How's it going?" she asked, setting his coffee down beside his left hand.

"He isn't on the first page."

She smiled.

"We have probably a million more."

"Yay…"

Her smile widened at the sarcasm in his voice – she was glad to hear it, really – and put her hand on his shoulder again.

"The guys and I are going to go check some things back at that room. I need you to stay here and see if you can find-"

"I could go."

"Not a chance."

They'd already discussed it, so she didn't have to really worry about any kind of argument, really.

"But what if he comes back?"

"He won't have you to shoot at," she told him. "The rest of us have guns and we're ready for him this time."

Castle knew she was right, but he was still worried. _He_ was her partner, after all. It was his job to keep her safe out in the city, and he was being left behind. It must have showed on his expression, because she smiled reassuringly and tightened her hold on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine. I'll call you if we find anything. You try to remember anything that you can about the place so we can compare notes later."

Which didn't appeal to him at all. But he nodded, because he'd already decided he was going to do just that. After he found Jeremy.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Probably quite a while. Captain Montgomery is going to keep you company."

He arched an eyebrow at that.

"You mean he's going to _babysit_ me…"

Beckett grinned.

"Call it whatever you want."

Castle scowled, but it wasn't really serious and she knew it. He figured she probably needed a break from him anyway after spending so much time exclusively with him. Especially considering he was being such a nutcase just then.

"Be careful, okay?"

Her expression softened and she nodded.

"I will."

He watched her leave with Esposito and Ryan, and turned to the computer once more, with his coffee in his hand. Montgomery joined him only a few minutes later and sat on the edge of Beckett's desk.

"How's it going?"

"The case? Or me personally?"

"You."

"I'm handling things badly, I think."

"From the sounds of things, you've had a rough few days."

"Seems like it, yeah."

The Captain smiled.

"Gerald said you really got clobbered."

Castle looked surprised at that.

"He called you?"

"I called him once Beckett told me he was the one who checked you out," Montgomery corrected. "I wanted to check on you, and didn't want to go rushing down to Beckett's and get in the way."

The writer rolled his eyes.

"So much for patient/doctor confidentiality."

"That doesn't count with golfing partners, Rick. You know that."

"Yeah, I know."

They talked for a little longer, but Montgomery had things to do and Castle was supposed to be looking through the mugshots. Eventually the captain left him alone and wandered back to his office, and Castle went back to the computer screen. But he kept his phone close, knowing that if they found anything, Beckett would let him know.


	21. Chapter 21

"This place is creepy…"

Esposito nodded, looking over Beckett's shoulder and into the little room.

"Can you imagine being held in here in the dark?" The detective shook his head. "I'm surprised Castle can even close his eyes."

Beckett couldn't agree more, but all she did was nod.

"Did the crime scene guys find anything helpful?"

"They found blood on the broken rod," Ryan said. "They're saying it looks like the manacles were looped over the rod and his hands were clamped together with the combination lock. Chances are the rod eventually broke – or was broken – and either used to hit him or hit him when it broke. They'll let us know when they figure it out."

"Good. Anything else?"

"There was a lot of stuff," Esposito said. "They're going through everything they pulled, but it could take a while."

Beckett sighed, but she knew her frustration was only because she was so anxious about Castle and figuring out what happened to him. The three of them poked through the place, looking around for anything that the CSU guys might have missed. Not that they really expected to find anything – the CSU people were pros, after all – but it would also give anyone who might have seen something the chance to hover around the outer edge of the perimeter that had been created by the police tape and maybe talk to them as they were leaving.

Eventually, somewhere around lunchtime, they decided that the place had been picked over fairly thoroughly, and that they weren't going to find a hidden clue anywhere. No one had been seen hanging out hoping to talk to them, either, which was too bad, really, because that certainly would have been better than relying on Castle's less than dependable memory.

"Well, let's head back," Beckett decided with another sigh. "I want to talk with Lanie and see-" Her phone rang, interrupting her, and she looked at the display. "Speak of the devil." She answered it, listened for just a moment, and then ended the call.

"What is it?" Esposito asked.

"Lanie has the identity of the man found with Castle's wallet. She wants us to meet her at the precinct."

"Let's go."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Lunch, Rick?"

Castle stretched as well as he could and looked up from the computer. After a couple of hours looking at the screen with only a few breaks, his eyes were ready for lunch even if he wasn't all that hungry.

"Yes," he told Montgomery, standing up with more creaks than Beckett's chair. "I could use a break."

"We'll have to have something delivered. Pizza? Chinese?"

"Hold that thought, guys."

They looked over and saw that Lanie Parrish was walking toward them. She had a folder in her hand and a satisfied look in her eyes.

"Doctor?" Montgomery asked, looking at the folder. "What is it?"

"Some information," she replied. "I asked Beckett to meet me. I had hoped she'd be here so I wouldn't need to-"

"We're here," Beckett said, coming over with Esposito and Ryan right behind her. "What do you have?"

"Two things. CSU confirmed Castle was in that room. Forensics matched the blood on the wooden rod to his type – they're going to compare the DNA just to be sure."

"And the other thing?" Beckett asked.

"The dead man we pulled from the water is James Kane."

"Jimmy the Cane?" Castle asked, surprised that he recognized the name.

"You know him?" Beckett asked, taking the folder that Lanie handed her and opening it.

"Yeah. He's a fence. Correction, he _was_ a fence. He died like five years ago."

"That's not possible, Castle."

Of course, as messed up as his memory was just then she shouldn't have been too surprised.

"He's right," Lanie told them. "When we got his name, I looked. He was supposedly killed in a house fire almost five years ago."

"But then who is our dead man?"

"James Kane. Apparently whoever died in that fire wasn't Jimmy the Cane."

"How do _you_ know this guy, Castle?" Ryan asked.

"I spent quite a bit of time with him six or seven years ago." He noticed Beckett's look and rolled his eyes. "Not fencing stuff, but learning about it. He was pretty open about his work and I learned a lot – for a novel I was writing."

"Tell me about him," Montgomery said.

"High end fence. _Really_ high end."

"What, like diamonds and things?" Beckett asked.

"Jewelry and art were his specialty," Castle agreed. "Things that would be well known. Guy was a past master at making something vanish and replacing it with a _lot_ of money."

Beckett frowned.

"We're sure it's him, Lanie?"

"Positive."

"What's this guy doing with Castle's wallet?" Esposito asked.

"And what does it have to do with our dead woman and Andrew?"

"_Jeremy_," Castle corrected.

"Did you find him?" Beckett asked.

"No. Not yet."

"Then how-"

Esposito raised a hand to stop her question in order to ask one of his own.

"If Castle was in a cab on the way to the Old Haunt and saw someone he knew who was _supposed_ to be dead walking down the street, do you think that would be reason enough for him to tell the cab driver to stop and let him out?"

Kate stopped and looked at Castle. So did the others.

"_Would_ you have recognized him? After so long?"

"Maybe. Probably."

"What would that have to do with our dead woman? Or why Castle was being held captive?" Ryan asked.

"What kind of relationship did you and Kane have, Castle?" Beckett asked. "Would he have any reason to want you injured or want to keep you captive?"

"No. We got along pretty well. Our parting was amicable. He even told me he liked the book once it was out."

"Did you see him again after that?"

"No. Never."

Beckett sighed.

"None of this makes sense."

"We need to find Andrew," Ryan said.

"Jeremy," Castle corrected.

"Whoever he is, you're right," Montgomery told them. "Find him."

Beckett nodded.

"We can check with the witnesses again and talk to the-"

"Not you, Beckett. You take Castle back to the safe house. Ryan, Esposito? You two follow up on Mr. Kane and go back over the evidence from the fire he supposedly died in. Figure out why he would fake his death – or if someone else might have done it for him."


	22. Chapter 22

The drive back to the safe house was quiet. When they got into the car Castle closed his eyes almost immediately, and Beckett assumed that he had a headache – or that he was tired, since he'd slept so little the night before. She could relate; she was feeling the effects of his rough night, too, and had to admit – to herself anyway – that she was glad to be excused from anything else for the rest of the day. Just to make sure, though, she reached over and touched his leg to get his attention without startling him. When he opened his eyes and looked over at her, she didn't see him wince as he might have if his head was hurting him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." He gave her a slight smile, as though to reassure her.

"Tired?"

"A little." Castle sighed. "I was trying to remember the cab ride. I figured we're in a car, the cab is a car, maybe…"

He trailed off, but he didn't need to explain himself beyond that. She knew what he was talking about.

"No luck, though?"

"No. I have this blank spot," he said. "I _know_ something is supposed to be there, but every time I try to focus on it, nothing happens."

"Maybe you're trying to hard," she suggested. "You've remembered a few things – and usually when you're not thinking about it. Take a break. We'll have lunch and forget about what you can't remember."

He didn't look completely convinced, but she knew from his expression that he was considering what she said, and that was good enough. She knew she was right, after all.

They drove the rest of the way in companionable silence, and again she parked the car inside the garage and only let him open his door when the garage door was closed.

"What are you hungry for?" she asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Montgomery was going to order pizza…"

Beckett shook her head.

"We don't get deliveries at safehouses. It would defeat the entire purpose…"

He'd expected it, but it had been worth a shot. With a slight shrug, Castle headed for the fridge.

"What did you have in mind, Detective?"

"We have soup."

"I'm not sick."

"Soup isn't only for when a person is sick."

"Chicken noodle soup is the first thing a person is given when they have a cold," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes at that.

"There are other kinds of soup."

"Is there tomato?"

"Yes."

"We could have soup and sandwiches, then. Grilled cheese and tomato soup."

"Sounds good. Rock paper scissors?"

He smiled and shooed her away.

"I'll make it."

"You sure? I could."

"_You_ find us something to do the rest of the day besides spy on the neighbors."

Beckett knew that most of the safehouses tended to be stocked with board games and cards; the kind of activities for just such a need. Sitting around doing nothing could be very stressful when all you had to think about was what could be going wrong. It wasn't quite the same in Castle's case, but they were both used to being more active, so they'd definitely need to find something to keep them occupied.

By the time the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup began to permeate the kitchen and living room, Beckett had gathered a few different board games, a deck of cards, and a 1000 piece puzzle that was a picture of a mountain with forests in the background and a complex meadow in the fore. Castle brought over bowls, saucers, and utensils and lit up when he saw the puzzle.

"I haven't done a puzzle in years," he murmured, his eyes warm.

"But you like them?" She had a feeling she knew the answer, even before he nodded.

"I'm a mystery writer. Of course I like puzzles. You?"

Beckett's smile was just as sincere.

"I'm a detective. It's what I do."

He gestured for her to have a seat and brought over a platter with far too many grilled cheese sandwiches on it. Then he filled both of their bowls with soup from the kettle on the stove.

"Hungry?" she asked, amused, as he sat down and reached for one of the sandwiches. He'd cut them in half, so it was easy to dunk into his soup.

"A good grilled cheese is not to be denied, Kate," he told her, stuffing the dipped end into his mouth. "Eat before it gets cold."

They ate in silence – mainly because they both hated talking with their mouths full if they could avoid it – and to her surprise they polished off all the sandwiches and a fair amount of the soup before they were full. She'd noticed while they were eating that Castle kept looking at the puzzle, obviously already trying to do it in his head, and when she was sure he was done, she got up and took his dishes before he could.

"Wipe down the table, Castle," she suggested. "Then get the puzzle ready while I do the dishes."

He grinned and got up, carrying the dishes that she couldn't and grabbing a wet washcloth from the sink after depositing the dishes on the counter.

"They can wait, you know…"

Beckett shrugged.

"I'll do them now so they're easy. It won't take long."

He didn't argue with her, and as she filled the sink with soapy water she watched him wipe the table off and dry it down and then reach for the box and dump the puzzle pieces out onto the now clean surface.

"I don't recall seeing any puzzles at your place," he said as he started flipping all the pieces upside right so they'd be easier to place.

"It's been a while," she admitted. She smiled over at him. "Besides, you haven't seen _everything_ in my place."

"Good point."

Beckett finished the dishes before he finished getting all the pieces flipped upside right. He held one up as she moved her chair so she'd be sitting beside him instead of across from him.

"My mother had a puzzle when I was a kid," he told her. "It was two-sided, and on one side the picture was a huge jumble of different dice."

"And the other side?"

"Coins. All sizes, colors and kinds. It was mind-boggling. I spent almost an entire winter working on it."

"Did you finish it?"

He nodded.

"Only to find that there were a few pieces missing."

Beckett chuckled, and looked at all the pieces that were strewn in front of them.

"Do you want to count them, first?" she asked. "Just to make sure?"

Castle smiled, feeling pretty good all things considered. She was right; doing something other than worrying was definitely making him feel less afloat.

"I think we can chance it, this time."


	23. Chapter 23

They worked on the puzzle in contented silence for quite a while. Without really discussing it, Beckett worked on the edges of the puzzle on her side and Castle did the side he was sitting on. Both frequently looked at the box for comparison and they managed to get the entire outer frame completed and they were working on individual patches of different foliage when Beckett's phone rang, the sudden noise startling both of them and making them grin sheepishly. Beckett picked up her phone, looked at the display to see who it was.

"Javier," she told Castle as she answered it. "Beckett."

"_Hey_." Esposito's voice was a little stressed, telling her before he even said something that he thought he had some information she might want to hear. "_We got an ID on the boyfriend."_

"Yeah? Who is he?"

_"Andrew Mahr. We confirmed it with the property management people."_

"Do you have him in custody?"

If so, they'd be able to let Castle go home – but more importantly, they could see if looking at the guy would trigger more memories.

_"No. We checked with his work – he's a registered nursing assistant at a rehab facility – and they said that he hasn't been in the last two days. Ryan's asking around right now to see if anyone has some friends of his we can check with."_

"Keep me informed, will you?"

_"Of course. How are things going?"_

She met Castle's eyes – he'd been watching her as she talked with Esposito – and smiled.

"We're fine."

_"Let me know if you need a break."_

"I'm good, thanks."

They ended the call and Castle couldn't keep silent.

"They found him?"

"They have a name," she confirmed. "Andrew Mahr." She watched for any sign of recognition, but wasn't surprised when Castle shook his head.

"That's not his name."

Beckett shrugged.

"It's the one the guys got from the property management people. And from his work. He's a nurse's assistant at a rehab place. Sound familiar?"

Castle hesitated, and she knew he was trying to make himself remember something – anything – that might help, but she could see the frustration that had marked his expression from the moment she told him the man's name.

"No."

Beckett reached out and touched his hand, trying to reassure him that it was all right for him to not remember just then. Then she remembered something else.

"When you came to my place the other night – all beat up and bleeding – you wouldn't let me call an ambulance. Maybe you saw this guy Andrew in scrubs?"

He looked down at their hands and was forced to shake his head again. He didn't remember going to her house – or anything until he'd woken up there the next day.

"Bridget called him _Jeremy_," Castle told her, firmly. "I _heard_ her."

"Bridget?"

"What?"

"Who's Bridget?"

She saw his face light up in sudden excitement.

"The woman," Castle said. "Her name is Bridget."

"The guys are saying it's Linda."

"They have to be fake names," he said, letting go of her hand and standing up. He didn't have anywhere to go, though, and no white board to look at. Instead he ended up turning back toward her. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Why else would I know them by one name and everyone else knows them by another?"

"You could be thinking of someone else…" Who knew what was going on in his head?

"I'm not," he told her.

"How can you be sure?" she asked.

"Because I don't know their _last_ names, Kate. These are the ones I can't remember…"

"Why would these people need aliases?"

"Why would they beat me up and keep me locked in a closet?" he asked, agitated and pacing. "I don't know who they are, or what they wanted, or what it had to do with me, but I know that I remember _her_ calling _him_ Jeremy and _him_ calling _her_ Bridget. And they argued _all_ the time."

"About what?"

He stopped. His face suddenly so pale that she thought he was going to pass out. Obviously something unsettling had come back to him.

"About killing me."

Beckett got up and walked him over to the couch and then pushed him down onto it and sat beside him, close enough to touch him if she needed to calm him or hold him, her eyes locked with his.

"Why?" she asked him. "Why would they want to kill you? Are you sure you don't know them?"

"I don't know them, Kate."

"Do you remember anything else they were saying?"

Castle shook his head.

"It's coming and going in pieces. I know he was mad at her and he was the one who wanted me dead… And I think that they were arguing about something else, too."

"What?"

"I'm not sure… I'm sorry."

His face was a study of different emotions, and she could definitely understand why he had hesitated before going into his own closet. Locked in a closet, tied up and listening to people arguing about whether to kill him or not? She was surprised that he wasn't more messed up than he was. Probably the only thing keeping him sane was the fact that he was trying so hard to remember. Impulsively, Beckett touched his cheek, feeling the stubble that had grown in since she'd shaved him.

"You don't have to be sorry," she told him. "You're doing great."

He rolled his eyes at that; clearly not as sure about that as she was, and it made Beckett smile a little.

"I'm going to call Esposito," she said. "And have them look for any kind of alias for Andrew and Linda – or anything suspicious that they can find."

"And a connection to Jimmy the Cane," Castle added.

Beckett nodded.

"While I do that, why don't you set up a board game?"

"Tired of the puzzle?"

"My eyes need a break, and I think you do, too. We can leave it and try to finish it tonight or tomorrow."

Castle knew she was trying to distract her, and he appreciated it. Enough so that he didn't even argue.

"Can we play cards?"

She stood up and headed for the table where she'd left her phone.

"Go Fish?"

He smiled.

"If that's what you want to play."

"Gin it is."


	24. Chapter 24

"I think I prefer the puzzle…"

Beckett smiled, and picked up the paper that they'd been keeping score on.

"You mean because you owe me $3,545 dollars?"

He frowned.

"You said we weren't playing for money."

"That was before I started winning."

Her grin told him that she was only teasing, but it had been obvious that she was definitely better at Gin than he was. Or at least she was that particular evening. Not surprising, really, considering how distracted he was. She wasn't as sharp as she might normally have been, either – she was tired – but Beckett knew that Castle would have given her more of a challenge on some other day.

"Do you take IOUs?"

She chuckled and reached for the discarded cards, but Castle shook his head and leaned back sideways against the back of the sofa.

"I think I'm done, Kate."

Beckett studied him while she gathered the deck of cards and put them back in the box. His face had been pale when they'd started (from the memory of the reason for the arguments of his captors) and even though they'd been playing for a couple of hours, he was still ashen.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked him.

He knew she was worried about him, and he didn't want her to be. She'd already done so much for him, and was stuck at the safehouse because of him. She looked just as tired as he felt – because she'd stayed up late with him the night before, he reminded himself – and while he liked the idea of having her to himself, this wasn't the way he'd had in mind.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Just tired of losing my money to a card shark."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you're a suspicious person?"

"_Or_ because you're not telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I'm okay," he assured her.

"Do you hurt?"

"No more than before, and my head doesn't hurt as much." He tilted his head sideways. "You look tired, though. Maybe you should take a nap?"

Or just go to bed early. The afternoon was well gone and they were already into the evening. After the large lunch he'd made neither of them would suffer if dinner was late – or skipped completely.

It was a measure of just how tired she was that Beckett nodded. She shifted a little on the couch and leaned her side against the back of it, too, looking at him as she rested the side of her head against the cushions behind her.

"What are _you_ going to do?"

"Spy on the neighbors for a while."

"You'd be better off sleeping, Castle. You look like you could use it."

His smile was a little wistful.

"I will in a bit."

"You can have the bed." she offered.

"I can't spy on the neighbors in the _bedroom_," Castle pointed out. He offered up another smile, but it just made him look tired. "You go ahead. I can sleep on the couch when I get tired."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not going to try very hard to sleep?"

"Because you're a suspicious person?" he repeated. "It's a good trait in a detective, not so much in a roommate."

Beckett frowned. Humor aside, she was really worried that he might stay up and not sleep. While she knew that he didn't sleep a lot if he was in the middle of writing, she also knew that this wasn't the same thing. He probably hadn't slept much while he was captive – she knew she wouldn't have – and she knew he hadn't had much sleep since. She knew why, and she understood completely, but he had to sleep.

"We could call your doctor friend and maybe he could prescribe something to help you sleep…"

"I don't _want_ to sleep, Kate." It slipped out before he could censor it, and he saw her expression soften at the admission and turned away, looking at the TV screen instead. "Maybe I can call Alexis."

"That's a good idea," Beckett told him. "Use my phone, though. It's secure and untraceable."

His hadn't been charged, yet, she knew, but he could have plugged it in and used it, and she definitely didn't want that.

"You think someone might track me down?"

She shrugged.

"It's doubtful, but I don't want to take the chance something might happen. Just do it my way, okay? I'll feel better."

And hopefully he would, too. Alexis was always able to cheer her dad up, Beckett had noticed.

"Okay."

"And don't tell her what's going on," she reminded him.

"Right."

She handed him her phone and got up and got the clothes she was going to sleep in and headed into the bathroom to give him some privacy.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

When she came out a short time later he was still sitting on the sofa, but he looked a little better.

"Did you get hold of her?"

"Her and mother both. They were getting worried, since I haven't answered my phone. I told them it was dead and let them scold me for a while."

Beckett smiled and came over and sat beside him.

"How's the trip going?"

"She likes UCLA, she likes Oregon State and she is looking at a couple in Washington tomorrow and the next day."

"Well that's good."

"I'd rather she went to school a little closer to home."

"Kids don't want to go to school close to home. Did _you_?"

He scowled.

"That was different. _My_ mother is crazy."

She reached down and took his hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to take you to bed with me."

Castle arched an eyebrow at that, and she saw the amused gleam in his eyes. He knew she couldn't have meant what she was saying.

"Oh? And you're not worried about being videoed?"

Beckett chuckled, glad the mood was upbeat and intending to keep it that way if she could.

"The cameras record outside, not in. Come on." He let her lead him into the bedroom and then she pushed him toward the bed. "Get changed. I'll be right back."

He gave her and odd look, uncertain where she was planning on going with this – and just how far – but she didn't wait around to let him ask. She was all for anything that would keep his mind off being afraid to sleep. Beckett went and double checked all the locks, used the TV to check that none of the cameras had lost their feed and then she turned the TV off and head back into the bedroom. He was under the blankets and his clothes were piled in the corner. She frowned; he wasn't wearing a shirt – which made her wonder if that was all that was missing in his wardrobe.

"Are you naked?"

"No."

"You're not lying?"

He smirked.

"Katherine Beckett, you're so suspicious."

"Where's your shirt?"

"I didn't feel like forcing my arms up again once I got the other one off."

Beckett gave him another suspicious look, but she walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the top blanket back. Castle rolled over to watch, and she saw the surprise in his expression.

"What?"

"You're _really_ going to sleep with me?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to _sleep_ with you, Castle, not have sex with you."

Hence the reason she wasn't sleeping under all the blankets he was.

"Your secret would be safe with me."

"I bet."

She inched over in the bed until she was against him, and then rolled over onto her side.

"We can't be face to face," Castle told her. She could see that he was actually starting to droop a little. Maybe it wouldn't take him long to fall asleep once they got quiet.

"Why not?"

"Because."

Which wasn't the best reason. Beckett didn't want to explore that any further, though, just in case the reason was something she didn't want to know. Instead, she rolled over onto her other side and kept her distance from his front – again, just in case. Castle surprised her, though, and put his arm around her, pulling her against him. And she couldn't help but tense, even though it had been her idea. He shifted a little, getting comfortable, and his hand ended up on his stomach.

"Relax, Kate. I'm not going to do anything."

Castle's voice was sleepy and amused and his hand tightened on her. He was grateful to her for being willing to cuddle with him, and he would rather hold her than have her hold him. He closed his eyes, trying to relax and holding completely still so she would relax, too. After a few moments, she did just that, and Castle felt himself start to drift off after only a few moments. He was so tired.

OOOOOOOOOO

The police car patrolling the neighborhood noticed the dark sedan around 10pm. It was parked in front of a well-lit house several blocks from the house he'd been advised was being used by some police officers, and the hood was up. The officer inside glanced at the driver as he drove by, debating whether the man needed his assistance or not. He decided he didn't. It was still early, and everyone had cell phones now days. The driver gave him a slight nod as he passed, and the officer kept driving.

The patrol route went through the area every 20 minutes or so and the car was there the next time the officer went by. The hood was still up, but the driver wasn't anywhere to be seen. The officer hesitated, decided that the driver might have been picked up by a friend, and simply made a note of the license plate number – just in case.

At midnight, when the cruiser went by for the last time before the shift change, the officer noticed that the car was gone. He made a note of it on his sheet, and then finished his patrol and went back to the station.


	25. Chapter 25

"_Are you out of your mind? We need to get rid of him!"_

"_We can't."_

"_Yes, we can. I'll take him out into the park somewhere. It'll look like a mugging gone wrong."_

"_This is _Richard Castle_, Jeremy. You can't kill him."_

"_Of course I can. This is all your fault, you know? If you hadn't brought him here-"_

"_My fault? This is not my fault you madman. All you had to do was tell James that we were ready to unload the gift. Instead, you kill him and now we have-"_

"_Shut up, Bridget! Castle knows what we look like, did that ever occur to you? He can identify both of us and he knows James was here. What are you thinking?"_

"_I don't see why we have to kill him…"_

"_We're not keeping him!"_

"_Let me think about it. There has to be something we can do."_

"_There is. We can kill him."_

_Castle stirred restlessly in his sleep, the nightmare a familiar one. He struggled to free himself from the manacles that were holding him in place, but they were tight, and his arms were killing him from all the previous tries. Pain lanced through his body as he tried to move, but he found himself held in place._

"Easy…"

_The voice didn't belong in his nightmare. It was soft, for one thing, and there was an undercurrent of concern and even love in that voice. Alone, though, it probably wouldn't have been enough. His nightmare had him in its grip and it was a strong one. Gentle hands brushed against his cheek, though, and then he was being held and that same voice murmured to him, assuring him that he was safe and nothing could hurt him._

"Kate?"

_He knew he had to hold on. Beckett had to be looking for him by then, and all he needed to do was somehow manage to keep himself alive until she managed to figure out where he was. Of course, she didn't know where he was. She didn't know about the secret room – even if she found the storefront. She'd never find him. He was going to die alone, and she'd never know what had happened and why._

"Easy, Rick…" the voice whispered. "I've got you."

"_You found me?"_

_That didn't sound right, but even in his nightmare he recognized Beckett's voice, and that wasn't something Bridget could imitate. _

"_Sleep, Castle," she whispered, her voice warm and soft in his ear. "I'll keep you safe."_

_He tried to refuse – he had to stay awake and find a way to escape – but her body was warm against him and her embrace promised security and a chance to rest. The nightmare lost its hold against her touch, and he settled against her and drifted off again._

OOOOOOOOOO

Beckett ran her fingers lightly and carefully through Castle's hair as she held him. He'd started mumbling to himself a short time after they'd fallen asleep, and she'd woken almost immediately. They hadn't turned the bedroom light off, so it was easy enough for her to see his brow was pinched, and she wasn't convinced that it was pain. When he started squirming, she'd tried to calm him with a touch, but had quickly realized that that wasn't going to be enough. Intent on trying to keep him asleep – since she knew he wouldn't go back to sleep if he woke up – Beckett slipped under the blankets he was under and wrapped her arms around him so she could reassure him that he was safe.

"Easy…" she whispered.

He mumbled something but he didn't wake, and Beckett shifted without letting him go until she was comfortable again. She closed her eyes and let her fingers drop from his hair to his chest, but she stroked his skin lightly, reassuring him as well as she could without waking him.

"Kate?"

His voice had a sleepy quality that told her he wasn't awake.

"Shh… I'm here…"

"You won't leave?"

"No."

He went limp in her arms and she continued to murmur to him and stroke him until the action put her back to sleep as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_You want to know a secret, Rick? I _can_ call you Rick, can't I?"_

_The haze of never ending pain made him groggy – or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't slept in what felt like days – and all he could manage was a nod. _

"_Sure…"_

_She giggled and her hand came out to touch his cheek._

"_I knew we'd get along. Jeremy doesn't understand, but I couldn't ever let him kill you. I love you, you know? Your books are amazing – your characters are so vivid, so real. I feel like they're real people."_

"_Is that the secret?"_

"_No." She giggled again – a scary sound that made him think of someone who wasn't quite all there. "I stole the gift."_

"_The gift?"_

"_Jeremy will be so angry…" she giggled again, and her hand slid along his cheek, again. The touch was enough to make his skin crawl. "But he won't know where it is, so he'll have to do what I tell him, or he won't get any of the money."_

"_What's the gift?"_

"_It's a secret, Rick," she said. "And if I tell you Jeremy _will_ kill you. I won't be able to talk him out of it. And then he'll kill _me_."_

"_What's the gift…?"_

"_He'll kill me."_

"_The gift…?"_

"_He'll kill you."_

"_The gift…"_

"Castle?"

It wasn't Bridget. The voice wasn't deranged. It was soft, and the hand cradling his face wasn't the same. It was comforting, and he longed for the touch.

"The gift…"

"Castle…" Beckett's voice again. "Go to sleep."

"I can't. It's dark. If I sleep he might kill me…"

"He can't get near you," she promised. "I'll keep you safe."

"He killed her…"

"Who?"

"She stole the gift. She said he'd kill her if he found out."

"What's the gift, Rick?"

He sighed; exhaustion and her comforting presence dragging him back to his restless sleep. Beckett sensed she was losing him – just as she was getting some answers – and while she didn't want to wake him she definitely wanted to hear more.

"Rick?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's the gift?"

"I don't know."

He drifted off; not even she could keep him awake just then, and Beckett made sure the blankets were covering him still. Then she reached for her phone. Not to make a call – she wasn't going to wake the guys this late – but just to leave herself a message so she wouldn't forget what she wanted to look into in the morning. The movement pulled her away from Castle, and he roused a little.

"Easy… I'm here…"

She held him again, and he went back to sleep.

It took Beckett quite a bit longer before she did.


	26. Chapter 26

_The skin under his hand was warm and smooth. He slid his hand along it, almost automatically and was aware of a feminine sigh of pleasure in response. Encouraged, he continued his caressing, the motion hypnotic and soothing. He almost drifted off again when a hand brushed his neck and then his chest. The touch was delicate and it was his turn to sigh in response. Encouraged by his response, the touch repeated, but now it was caressing him as well and he snuggled closer, his hand roaming higher until he felt a cloth covered swell of flesh that he instinctively cupped with his hand. _

"_Yes…"_

_The feminine sound was more sigh that actual voice, and he felt her lips on his neck and her warm breath on his skin. His hand slipped under the loose cloth, and she arched against him willingly as he continued his caress. Her lips left his neck after a moment and brushed against his jaw, then his cheek and finally found his lips in a kiss as tender as the most gentle of caresses. He moaned softly at the touch and his hand slid down along her side and then her hip, eventually cupping her thigh and using the hold to bring her leg over his hip._

_In response her hand slid down along his chest, and then his stomach and then even lower. He tensed, waiting, and after a moment, he felt her take him in her grasp. The touch was sensual and exciting and his breath caught in his chest with a gasp._

Beckett woke with a start and froze. Suddenly realizing that the amazing – and extremely realistic – dream she'd been having was nothing of the sort, she hesitated, her hand still intimately holding him. Chagrined, flushing even warmer than she'd been from reaction to the dream, Beckett tried to figure out how the hell she was going to extract herself from him before he woke up and realized what was going on. Then his hand stopped and his body tensed in a completely different way and she knew that he was awake as well. Castle pulled his head back from her chest and met her wide-eyed gaze with his own somewhat dazed one.

Half asleep or not, it didn't take him long to figure out what had happened. He let go of her thigh and looked down at the two of them, taking in her exposed belly and chest with a glance. Beckett took the opportunity to pull her hand out of his pants, blushing furiously.

"Um…"

He cleared his throat, but neither moved away. He was still recovering from waking up so suddenly and in such a manner – and the fact that he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so aroused – and she was focusing on the new bruise forming on his neck. She closed her eyes. God, she'd given him a hickey.

"Kate?"

"I'm sorry, Castle…" she said, looking at him again. "I um... I thought it was a dream."

"So did I," he told her, taking in the blushes and trying to think of some way to make her less uncomfortable. He had a feeling that just moving away wasn't going to do the trick. "I just figured after all the nightmares I'd been due something a little… gentler."

She managed a slight smile at that, and the reminder of his nightmares made her take a longer look at him, examining his face to see if he looked any better than he had the night before.

"How do you feel?"

Now it was his turn to flush.

"I need a shower. A _cold_ one."

Beckett laughed, and the quip broke the tension between them for the most part.

"So now I understand why you said we couldn't sleep face to face."

"Yeah." His ardor was cooling a bit, now. "Sorry."

Since she had been the one with her hand in his pants, she didn't think he had much reason to apologize. Beckett flushed again at that particular thought, and smiled.

"I think I'll live. You?"

"There are worse ways to wake up." He smiled, too, and leaned over and brushed a kiss against her cheek.

"What was that for?" She was almost afraid to hear the answer. He surprised her, though.

"For staying with me last night. I never would have been able to sleep without you."

"You're welcome." Beckett couldn't help herself. She reached out and touched his cheek again. He'd been so vulnerable and she wasn't used to seeing him like that. "How about some breakfast?"

"I can make it. Just let me shower first."

"You're not supposed to get your hair wet."

"I won't, but I do need a shower."

He'd figure it out.

"I'm not helping you out of the tub if you fall, so be careful."

"I will."

He pushed back the blankets and left her, and Beckett sighed and covered her eyes for a moment, allowing herself a chance to finish waking up. Then she remembered Castle's ravings from the night before and sat up abruptly, reaching for her phone. She got up and headed for the door.

OOOOOOOOOO

When Castle came out of the bathroom, he was dressed in clean clothes (and a button up shirt that was much easier to put on for him) and looking quite refreshed. Obviously the sleep he'd gotten the night before – even sleep that was broken with nightmares – had done him a lot of good. He breathed in deeply and appreciatively and joined Beckett in the kitchen. She was standing watch on a grill that was cooking pancakes. On the stove bacon was frying, and she'd already set the table with all of the condiments needed as well as the plates and glasses. She'd even made coffee.

"I could have cooked," he told her.

"I was up."

"I have a hickey…"

Beckett turned, and despite the fact that he wasn't smiling, his eyes were more amused than she could ever remember seeing them. He definitely did have a hickey; it had darkened a little more while he'd been in the shower.

"I don't see one."

"It's right _there_." He pointed to the spot high on his neck.

"That's just a bruise, Castle."

"It wasn't there yesterday."

"Sure it was. You just didn't notice."

"Uh huh." He casually took a piece of bacon from the plate she was filling slowly but surely from the stove. "We could probably have Lanie check it out… maybe compare the suction from your mouth to the size of the-"

"Maybe we can just cover it up," Beckett interrupted, far more amused and embarrassed than annoyed.

Castle shrugged. It didn't hurt quite so much to do that today. He was thoroughly enjoying himself – especially since he could read her well enough to know that she wasn't going to react badly about it.

"I suppose I could go buy a turtleneck."

Beckett snorted and rolled her eyes.

"We can use makeup," she told him. "I have some that will work."

He hadn't felt so good in a long time, and he couldn't help but hug her from behind, holding her close for just a moment.

"Thanks, Kate."

Beckett turned her head and smiled at him. She wasn't sure exactly what he was thanking her for – almost certainly not the hickey or groping him in his sleep (although who knew?) – but she could see he felt good, and she was glad for it.

"You're welcome, Rick. Now go sit down and we'll have breakfast."


	27. Chapter 27

"You know… it's just a hickey. We don't really _have_ to cover it."

"Yes. We do."

Castle rolled his eyes, still amused, and held still while Beckett went to work on him with makeup in hand. They'd had a large breakfast – mainly because they'd both skipped dinner the night before in favor of sleeping – and then Castle had shooed her off to take a shower while he filled the sink with water and did the dishes. He did wait until he heard the shower stop before rinsing the dishes, though, and he had them dried by the time she came out dressed and ready for her day. Then she'd sat him down and shaved him so he could look as good as he was feeling – much to his relief. And then, while he was still seated in the chair, she'd brought out her makeup to cover up the hickey.

"No one is going to notice it."

She gave him a look that he was very used to.

"It's a hickey, Castle, and they're all detectives. They're going to notice."

And that had been the end of that discussion. She had him tilt his head up and went to work on trying to cover her handy work with the closest color she could find. While she had him sitting still and feeling good she brought up the dreams from the night before.

"Last night you were talking a lot in your sleep," she told him. "Several times you mentioned Bridget telling you about a gift. Do you remember that?"

He hadn't before, but it was always a possibility that the nightmares might have triggered his memory a little. He frowned – the usual expression when he was thinking about a puzzle – and his cheerful demeanor lessened a little.

"I remember her telling me that if she told me Jeremy would kill her." His eyes met hers, and they were a little bleak. "I guess that happened, huh?"

Bridget was dead, after all.

"She kept you locked in a closet, Rick, don't forget."

"Yeah."

"Do you know what she meant by 'the gift'?" Beckett asked him, changing back to the original topic.

He didn't, and she could tell from his expression that he wished he could tell her otherwise.

"I don't know," Castle admitted. "I think it was something small and valuable, but I don't remember what she told me it was – or if she even did."

"She stole it, though?"

"Yes."

"Did you get the sense that Jeremy had stolen it? Or was it something of his?"

"I don't know."

"Did she tell you where it was?"

"Yes."

Beckett was surprised. She'd only asked the question because it was the next in the logical succession.

"Where is it?"

He shook his head.

"I don't remember."

She smiled, telling him that it was okay. It was. She'd gotten more information out of him – even though it had cost him a rough night and her a little lost sleep. There was no telling how much more they might be able to trigger.

"Maybe if we can show you this gift, it'll jog your memory a little."

"I'll do anything you want," he told her.

Which was all she could ever ask for, right? Beckett took his chin in her hand and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips. His bleak expression turned to surprise immediately.

"What was that for?" he asked, smiling despite himself.

"Letting me cover up the hickey."

She'd done it because she knew it would make him smile, but he didn't need to know that.

"If you want, you can give me another one and cover it up, too," he offered.

She chuckled and put away her makeup.

"Don't press your luck, Castle."

Still smiling, he shrugged.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked her. "What's the plan?"

"The first thing I want to do is have your doctor check you out and see how you're healing."

"You're going to let him come here?"

"No. Not a chance. We'll have him come to the precinct. If you think he will, that is?"

"He will."

"Good. I want to see if anyone's learned anything new and that's where we need to be." She looked him over. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

OOOOOOOOOOO

They left the safehouse and Beckett drove them back to the precinct. On the way she gave Castle her phone to call Gerald Cutter and arrange for him to meet them there at his convenience. Castle had to leave a message – he'd figured he was going to have to since it was a little earlier than doctor's hours – but he was still sure that they'd hear from the doctor long before it normally would have taken. He ended the call and noticed that Beckett was looking into the rearview mirror a little more often than normal.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I think I picked up a tail."

Castle looked behind them.

"What? Where?"

"Don't look." She frowned, looking into the mirror again. Then she took a right turn and drove for a while longer. Then took another right and watched for the sedan she was sure she'd seen. After a moment she frowned. "I don't see them…"

"Are you sure it was someone following us?" Castle asked.

"No. Not completely." But her gut was telling her that it had been.

"When did you notice them? At the safehouse?"

"No. It was a while after we left."

She would have noticed that immediately. Beckett picked up her phone, but there was no sense in calling someone to come help her look. If it _was_ a tail, they were gone. Or they were going to end up following her and Castle to the precinct – a place crawling with cops. No one would be foolish enough to try something there. She'd have to wait and try to pick them up again later. Then she could set a trap to find out who it was.

"What are you going to do?" Castle asked, looking back again. He couldn't help it.

Beckett shook her head.

"Nothing we can do. Not right now, anyway."


	28. Chapter 28

Despite the early hour Esposito and Ryan both were in before Castle and Beckett. The detectives looked up when the two came off the elevator, and even from that distance Beckett knew they had some information. She and Castle walked over to Esposito's desk, and he didn't make them wait.

"Andrew Mahr has only existed for five years."

"What?"

"We checked into his background, trying to find family or anything else, and what we found is a very good history – with a million holes in it."

Ryan nodded.

"His background goes all the way back to birth, but when we started checking on some of them – like his education and old jobs – none of those came back as authentic up until about five years ago."

"So it _is_ an alias," Beckett said.

"Definitely looks that way. Sorry I doubted you, Castle."

The writer shrugged.

"It's understandable."

"Linda probably is really Bridget, then, too," Beckett pointed out.

Esposito nodded.

"We ran her info as well. Same thing; last five years are verified but anything before that is definitely false information."

"So Jimmy the Cane dies five years ago and these two are using fake names from about the same time?" Castle asked. "That can't be a coincidence."

Beckett shook her head.

"No way. We just need to figure out what they have in common."

"Any way we can find out if Jimmy has been under an alias, too?" Castle asked.

The detectives hesitated, but eventually Esposito was the one that shrugged.

"Maybe. Doubtful, though. Unless someone puts in a missing person and it comes in as a match to him."

"CSU did find his fingerprints in the store, though," Ryan said. "Not in the room that Castle was in, but in the main store."

"Makes you wonder if he had something to do with-"

"I followed him in there," Castle said suddenly. "I saw him and followed him. I remember the back hallway…"

"Then what?" Beckett asked.

"I don't… Jeremy was there…" He sighed. "I don't remember anything else, though. It's black."

"Well, Dr. Cutter said that the bruises on your cheek are older than the cut on your head," Beckett reminded him. "Maybe Jeremy knocked you out…"

"If that's the case, you probably won't ever remember whatever happened next," Ryan said. "Because you didn't see it. Maybe even some of what happened after that, since you'd have probably been disorientated from the blow."

"That's not very encouraging."

"What isn't?" A new voice asked. They all turned and saw that Montgomery had walked up to them, having just arrived to the precinct.

Beckett told him what they had so far – and then she added what Castle had remembered about whatever the gift was. Montgomery listened intently, and then frowned.

"We don't know what this gift is?"

"No."

"Castle? You sure it was gift and not present or package or something?"

The writer shook his head.

"I remember Bridget saying that she stole the gift and that Jeremy was going to kill her if he found out."

"Given that Jimmy the Cane was a fence, maybe the gift was something that was stolen? Five years ago?" Ryan suggested.

Montgomery nodded.

"It's worth looking into. Start with that; look for old art or jewelry thefts that fit the timeline."

"Just here?"

"Start here and work your way around the rest of the country."

"Yes, sir."

"What can I do?" Castle asked, as Esposito and Ryan both headed for their computers.

"You have a doctor's appointment in my office," the captain told him. They all looked that direction, and Beckett and Castle saw that Gerald Cutter was watching them through the window of the office.

"When did he get here?" Castle asked, waving at his friend without lifting his arm too high.

"He came up the elevator with me."

"That's some seriously good service," Beckett said. "We only called him on our way in."

"That's what he said," Montgomery told them. "He has reason to get Castle healthy, though. We're playing in a round robin next week and if Castle can't lift his arms, he's not going to be much good."

Beckett smiled at that, and walked with the two men over to Montgomery's office. Cutter smiled at her, first, and offered her his hand and another of those amazingly warm smiles.

"Good morning, Detective. You look lovely today."

"Thank you," she said, feeling just a little warm at the compliment – although it was almost certainly the smile. The man exuded charm and sex appeal. Add to that the way she woke up that morning and she was just a little off kilter enough to fall for at least some of it. "Do you guys want me to leave you alone for this?"

"Not at all," Cutter told her. "You've been with Rick more than anyone else, so you'll be the one to tell me how he's been doing."

"I can tell you," Castle pointed out.

"Except that you might lie to me, and I doubt Kate here would." Another charming smile. "You did say I could call you Kate, right?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you to it," Montgomery told them. Besides, he wanted coffee.

As soon as the door was shut, Cutter had Castle sit on the edge of Montgomery's desk so he could check his stitches. He asked several questions which Castle answered as well as Beckett would have, and then he had Castle open his shirt so he could check the rest of the bruises.

"How are your shoulders?"

"They hurt," the writer admitted.

"Yeah, they will for a while. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do beyond painkillers."

Castle shook his head.

"They don't hurt that much."

"What's with the splotch on your neck?" Cutter asked, frowning. He reached out to touch it and looked at his finger. "Makeup?"

Castle shrugged.

"I had Beckett hid a couple of bruises. You know, so it wouldn't look so bad."

The doctor frowned.

"I don't remember you having any bruises there."

"I did. I _do_."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, and looked at Kate, who looked everywhere but at the two of them.

"Okay…"

"I need to be able to get my head wet, Gerald," Castle said, changing the subject. "My hair needs washed."

"You can't get it wet until the stitches come out. At least a few more days." He reached into the black bag he'd brought with him and pulled out a bottle. "I figured you'd need this."

Castle looked at it and found it to be some shampoo that apparently didn't require water – or even rinsing out. He'd never heard of any such thing, but Beckett had. She took it from him and nodded.

"That should work."

"How's the memory, Rick?" Cutter asked.

"It's still full of holes," Castle told him. "I'm having some dreams…"

"You will. It's your subconscious trying to help you remember. If it's getting too bad, let me know and we can get you something to help you sleep. You look tired." He looked at Beckett. "And so do _you_, my dear," he chided. "Are you having trouble sleeping, too?"

Beckett shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"I'm a doctor, you know…" Cutter reminded her, reaching out and touching her forehead with the back of his hand. "I'll tell Roy to let you have the afternoon off and maybe you can go home and take a nap or something. Let Rick take care of you for a change."

"I can do that," Castle agreed. _He_ thought she looked tired, too.

"I don't need to take a nap," Beckett disagreed. "I'm-"

"Going to get sick if you don't get enough sleep," he interrupted, and now he was not as much charming as he was doctor worried about someone not taking care of themselves.

"You might as well do what he says," Castle told her. "He'll just tell Montgomery who will tell you to take the day off. If you don't force the issue, we can still be in the loop if the guys come up with something…"

Beckett scowled, but she finally nodded.

"Fine."

"Good. Any questions? Concerns?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Thanks, Gerald."

"Don't thank me until you see my bill, Rick," the doctor told him with a grin. He left, then, and they watched him head toward the break room and Montgomery.

"What now?"

"We go see if Ryan and Esposito found anything – before Montgomery decides to give me the day off."


	29. Chapter 29

It was really too much to hope that the guys might have found something in just the short time that Castle and Beckett had been in Montgomery's office and they were right. Esposito even looked apologetic for not having anything, but Beckett wasn't concerned. She knew if there was something to find they'd find it. She explained to them that she and Castle were going to be heading back to the safehouse and then told them about her suspected tail from earlier that morning, and asked Ryan if he'd follow them at a distance to see if she was right – and if so, if he'd be able to catch the tail. Ryan, of course, agreed immediately, and they set it up beforehand that if Ryan found someone a couple of patrol cars would be in the area to back him up. For obvious reasons, Beckett and Castle wouldn't be involved in anything beyond being bait for the tail – if there was one.

Despite the care setting things up, and the fact that she took a very circuitous route back toward the safehouse neighborhood to give the tail plenty of time to acquire them, there was no sign of the sedan in her rearview mirror – and Ryan radioed her to let her know that he hadn't spotted anyone from his position a few blocks back. Feeling confident that they weren't being followed – although not at all ridiculous for having taken the extra precautions – Beckett headed to the safehouse with Ryan continuing to trail them until they had actually entered the garage and closed things up behind them. Inconspicuously, Ryan continued by the house without slowing and headed back to the precinct.

"So…" Castle said as they walked into the house. "Want me to tuck you in?"

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"No."

"But you are planning on taking a nap, right?" he asked. "You do look tired."

She _wasn't_ all that tired – she'd only been up for a few hours, after all – but she was smart enough to know that she was being given a chance to catch up on the sleep she'd been missing out on while helping Castle through the last couple of night, and she appreciated that. Enough so that she was going to try and take advantage of the respite.

"Yeah… I might lie down for a while…"

"Good. You deserve it."

He was well aware she was losing sleep because of him, and like Cutter had said; he was going to take care of her for a change. If she'd let him.

Beckett smiled at the sincerity in his voice and her expression told him that she understood how he felt.

"What are you going to do?"

"Depends on where you are going to nap."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're going back to bed, then I'll probably watch TV or spy on the neighbors. If you're going to sleep on the couch, then I'll work on the puzzle or do something else."

"I'm not going back to bed."

That was a bit much. Sleeping in bed wasn't a nap. It was going back to bed. Sleeping on the couch was napping. A fine distinction maybe, but one she wasn't going to ignore.

"Okay."

He went into the bedroom and pulled off the top blanket and a couple pillows and brought them over to the couch for her. Beckett rolled her eyes again but she smiled.

"Thanks." She caught up the remote for the TV and handed it to him before she settled on the couch and covered up. "It won't keep me awake if you watch TV."

He suspected that it might keep her from falling asleep, though, so instead, he set the remote on the far end of the couch, went over to the table and sat down. Instead of working on the puzzle that they'd started the day before, though, he picked up a tablet of paper that he'd brought from the precinct and a pen and sighed softly.

_A gift_

_Jeremy _

_Bridget _

_Jimmy the Cane_

He wrote them all down on the paper, willing himself to remember more now that he was finally starting to catch some memories, however incomplete, and hoping that seeing the names would help. He sat there, staring at them for a long time, but nothing seemed to be triggering anything. So he tried some more.

_A dark room_

_Arguments_

_Gunshots_

He frowned. Did he remember gunshots? There was no way he'd heard gunshots while in the closet. Gunshots would have been reported by the neighbors, the people on the street, and anyone within the area. He was sure that there hadn't been any such reports, because someone would have found that report. And maybe even have found him.

_Gunshots._

Castle closed his eyes.

_Gunshots_

_Gunshots_

His eyes snapped open.

With a silencer.

There _had_ been gunshots. He knew what a silencer sounded like and he could remember hearing that sound. Four shots, a yell, and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

Lanie had told him that Jimmy had been shot three times. Castle wondered if that was what he'd heard. It had been so quiet in the closet that he'd been able to hear everything in the room on the other side of the wall. The arguing. The discussions. The sex. More arguing. The threats to kill him. Threats to kill _her_. A lot of pain.

Castle shuddered, and rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes.

"Rick?"

He flinched, so startled that he actually almost wet himself. As it was, his stomach tightened so suddenly that he felt like he was going to throw up.

Beckett flinched, too, startled by his violent reaction to her soft query. He looked up at her, his eyes wild for just a moment until he realized that it was her. She put her hand on his shoulder, trying to settle him with the touch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized.

Castle shook his head.

"You didn't."

She had, of course.

Beckett looked at the paper he'd been writing on.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to remember…"

Her hand tightened a little on his shoulder. He knew she meant it to be supportive, but the pressure hurt his abused muscles more than just a little. He didn't say anything, though. The pain was better than the fear.

"Any luck?"

"Just little stuff – mostly what you already know."

"Gunshots?"

"With a silencer, I think," he replied. "Maybe the shots that killed James."

She nodded.

"The crime scene guys will be able to tell us if they find his blood in the room."

"Yeah." He stared at the paper for a moment longer, and then tried to change the subject. "You're supposed to be asleep, remember?"

"I dozed off for a while," she told him. "But it was too quiet to sleep, I think."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Yes. You just, um… startled me is all."

More like scared the hell out of him, but it wasn't her fault.

"You shouldn't be trying this without someone with you," Beckett told him. "I can't imagine how scary it is."

Of course, if the nightmares were any indication, it had to be terrifying. Not to mention the way he'd looked just then when she'd startled him.

"I just want to remember what happened…" he replied. "It's this close," he said, holding his finger and thumb less than an inch apart. "It's like it's trying to come out but it's just not there, yet."

"You shouldn't be trying to force it," she chided, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. "Come sit down with me, instead. You can watch TV or spy on the neighbors while I nap."

"But I want to-"

"Come on."

Beckett pretty much dragged him over to the couch, pushed him down on the other end from where she'd been trying to sleep and then reclaimed her spot and wrapped the blanket around herself again and snuggled against her pillows once more. He watched her close her eyes and decided that he could just wait until she fell asleep and then he'd go back to the table and what he'd been doing.

As if she could read his mind, though, she stretched out and her lower legs and feet were suddenly draped across his lap. He looked over at her, but there was no change in her demeanor – although he had a feeling if her eyes were open she'd have an amused look in them. He sighed – silently so it wouldn't disturb her (and so she wouldn't know she'd gotten him) and picked up the remote.


	30. Chapter 30

"Kate?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you awake?"

"M-hmmm…"

Castle wasn't so sure. She hadn't opened her eyes, after all. He watched her, waiting to see if she would. And watched a little longer until he tried again.

"Kate?"

"Castle, I'm sleepy…"

Her eyes were still closed.

"I know. Sorry. What color was that car that you saw following us?"

Which was enough to make her open her eyes. Castle was crouched by the couch, on eye level with her. He smiled at her, enchanted by how adorable she looked when she was half-asleep. Beckett rubbed her eyes.

"What?"

"What color was that car you saw?"

"Dark blue. Why?"

"I think someone has been watching the house…"

Beckett sat up.

"You've been outside?"

"No. I've been watching the cameras on the street." He sat down beside her, picking up the remote. "Watch."

Castle had obviously figured out how to make the playback work on the security system cameras, because he started rewinding one of the videos. When he found the spot he wanted, he hit play. The screen showed a few cars going by – the regular traffic on the quiet street. Then she saw a patrol car go by, a few more cars and then a dark sedan. It looked like every other dark sedan in the world, but Beckett frowned.

"That looks like it," she confirmed. "But it could just be a coincidence…"

"That's not the only time it went by," Castle told her. "In the three hours you've been sleeping I've seen the police patrols every 20 minutes or so and that same sedan has been by 7 times."

"Maybe it belongs to someone in the neighborhood…"

Beckett was suspicious, too, but she wanted to hear what he had to say since she knew he had very good observation skills. He shook his head.

"It drives by going the same direction every time," he said. "If it was someone from the neighborhood coming and going, they would be coming and going in opposite directions. This person is only going the one way, like he's going around the block repeatedly."

Beckett took the remote from him and toggled the camera views until she got one from the street side – a position for just this sort of situation. She rewound until she found the car, and then focused the camera on the license plate.

"What's the pattern, Castle?" she asked, reaching for her phone.

"There doesn't seem to be one," he admitted. "He just comes and goes."

She dialed Esposito's number and informed him what was going on. He didn't stay on the phone long – he didn't need to. She ended the call and tossed off the blanket so she could get up.

"Esposito's going to run the plate, and if it turns out that the car isn't registered to an address in this neighborhood, you and I are going to go play bait again – with several police officers as backup in case this person wants to do more an just follow us." She slipped her shoes on. "And if we catch him following us, we can bring him in for questioning."

Castle was obviously willing. He stood up as well.

"Let's go."

She held her hand up.

"Not yet. We need to wait until Esposito calls."

The phone rang again, and after the briefest of conversations she ended the call.

"Tell me it's registered to someone named Jeremy," Castle said.

"No. Adam. Adam Madison."

"Damn."

"Mr. Madison lives in Rhode Island."

"And so does his car?"

"And so does his car," she confirmed. "Let's go for a drive."

OOOOOOOOO

Ten minutes later they were in the car and driving around the neighborhood trying to pick up their tail. Beckett doubted that it would work – it didn't work the day before, after all – but to her surprise, she found the car in her rearview mirror only a short time later.

"Call Esposito," Beckett told him, handing Castle her phone. "Tell him to have them pick this guy up."

Castle did what he was told, and Beckett didn't even look back. She was confident that the officers would do their job, and instead of slowing down and waiting to see it happen, she drove to the precinct. With any luck, the car was stolen and their suspect would be the one driving. Then maybe they'd get some answers that Castle couldn't provide.

OOOOOOOOO

Esposito and Ryan were waiting at the elevator by the time they arrived.

"Did they get him?" Castle asked. He wasn't patient enough to wait for Beckett to ask.

Ryan nodded.

"Yeah."

"Is it Jeremy?"

"No. Adam Madison."

"Really?" Beckett frowned. "Who is he?"

"Ex cop out of Rhode Island. Retired ten years ago and now he runs a coffee shop."

It was Castle's turn to frown.

"What is he following us for?"

There was a commotion down the hall, and they all turned to watch as their man was taken through a side entrance and escorted to one of the interrogation rooms.

"Now's our chance to find out," Beckett said. "Castle, you stay in the observation room – if this guy knows anything, then we don't want him to see you."

OOOOOOOOO

Adam Madison was forty-five years old. He was a dark-haired man with an intense stare and as a former police officer, Beckett had to admit that he probably wasn't going to be easy to intimidate with the usual methods.

"Mr. Madison, my name is Detective Kate Beckett."

"I know."

"You know because you've been following me around the last couple of days…"

"I _know_ because I know you guys are keeping my sister in protective custody."

"What?"

"I want to see her, Detective," he told her, leaning forward, intently. "I want to know what you have planned for her, and what she's gotten herself into that made her go into Witness Protection."

"What's he talking about?" Castle asked, watching through the two-way window.

"No clue," Esposito replied.

Beckett didn't have a clue, either.

"Who is your sister, Mr. Madison?"

"You're kidding, right?" he asked.

"Who is she?"

"Bridget Hart."


	31. Chapter 31

Esposito looked over at Castle, who had closed his eyes while they were watching the interview.

"You recognize this guy, Castle?"

The writer didn't open his eyes.

"No. And I don't recognize the voice, either."

Which explained why he had his eyes closed. He was listening as well as watching while Beckett asked the questions and Mr. Madison answered them.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Mr. Madison…"

"Why do you look so surprised by her name?" Madison interrupted. "You have her."

Beckett shook her head.

"No. We don't. I'm sorry, but if we're talking about the same woman, then I'm afraid your sister is dead."

"No. _I_ talked to her a week ago. Your cock and bull BS fake death didn't work. I know she's alive. I _saw_ her."

"Do you know a man named Jeremy?" Beckett asked.

"No. Where's my sister?"

Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere until they made sure that they were talking about the same person – although she was almost certain they were – Beckett stood up.

"I need you to come with me, please, Mr. Madison."

"Where?"

"Just come with me, please."

She headed for the door, and Madison stood up, too. Beckett looked into the mirror on the wall, her expression clearly telling the guys something. Luckily, Ryan and Esposito knew exactly what she wanted them to do.

"I'm going to run Bridget Hart," Ryan said. "And see if there is any connection to someone named Jeremy."

"I'm going to call Lanie and let her know they're on the way down."

Both detectives got up and left, leaving Castle alone. He wanted to go with Beckett and see if this man actually _was_ related to Bridget, but he knew that Madison was still off limits to him until they knew what he knew. He hesitated, and stayed where he was, knowing that Beckett would eventually bring Madison back to interrogation one way or the other.

OOOOOOOOOO

Lanie was waiting for them when they arrived. Standing beside the drawer that held the body of Linda Swartz. Since Madison was an ex cop Beckett didn't need to tell him what was happening. He knew what was in the drawers. It was obvious, though, that he didn't expect to see the body that he saw when Lanie pulled out the drawer. His face, which had been defiant, went ashen and a soft moan of denial escaped his lips.

Beckett didn't need to ask if he knew her; it was obvious that he did. But she did have to ask the identity of the body since they had it wrong.

"Mr. Madison? Is this Bridget Hart?"

He nodded, reaching out and brushing a finger against the cold cheek.

"Yes. That's her…"

Beckett and Lanie shared a look and then Lanie closed the drawer, gently, and the detective led Madison out of the room and quietly back to the interrogation room – not wanting him to say anything until they were back where there were cameras and microphones to record what he told her. He was lost in his thoughts anyway, so he didn't seem ready to try to start a conversation with her just then. She sat him back in his chair and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Esposito and Ryan had both rejoined Castle by then, and she walked into the observation room.

"Castle?" she asked. "Do you know him?"

The writer shook his head.

"No. And I don't know the voice, either," he added.

"What do we have on Bridget Hart?"

"She died," Ryan said. "Five years ago."

"Seriously?"

"That's what we have," he told her. "Gas leak in her house led to an explosion that leveled the place."

"They found a body?"

He nodded.

"But it was burned and mangled. They couldn't ID anything, so they went on the assumption that it was her since the house was registered to her."

"And Jeremy?"

"No mention of anyone else living there. She wasn't married, had just graduated from college and was working in a fast food place."

"Huh. Okay, keep digging. See if there's any mention of Jeremy working in the same place she was working – check her college year books if you can find one."

Ryan nodded, but he didn't leave since he knew she was going to head back into the interrogation room. They'd all watch the interrogation because they knew one of them might pick up on something the others might have missed. Beckett left them and went to join Madison again.

He looked up when she walked in.

"She was shot…"

Beckett nodded.

"Yes."

"Who did it? Do you have them in custody?"

"No. We're still working on that. Our records show that your sister died in an explosion five years ago."

"You would know. You set it up."

"Mr. Madison, she wasn't in witness protection."

"She said she was."

"When you spoke to her last week?"

"Right. She said she snuck out because she wanted to see me."

"I have no doubt that she'd want to see you after so long, Mr. Madison," Beckett told him as gently as she could. "But we didn't have her."

"Why would she lie?"

"Why would she go into hiding?" Beckett countered.

He scowled.

"I don't know."

"When you talked to her did she mention a man named Jeremy? Or Andrew Mahr?"

"No. She just told me that she was in witness protection but that she wasn't going to have to be for much longer."

"Did she say why?"

"No. When I asked she said she couldn't tell me."

Beckett pulled out a picture that they had from Andrew Mahr's license.

"Do you recognize this man?"

"No."

"Did your sister mention anything about a gift?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"No. What kind of gift?"

"We're not sure."

Madison looked at the picture in front of him.

"Is this Andrew guy the one who shot her?"

"We think he might be," she confirmed.

"What can I do?"

"How did you find the safehouse?"

He leaned back.

"I was a cop. I know the drill."

"It's not that easy."

"I still know people…"

"Who?"

"I'm not going to tell you that, Detective." He took a deep breath. "Are we done? I need to start making arrangements for my sister. Again."

She could have held him – at least for a little while – but her gut was telling her that he didn't have any more information she could use just then, and she was almost certain that he didn't have anything to do with what had happened to Castle.

"We're done. For now. Are you going to be staying in town?"

"Yes. For now."

"Make sure we have your number in case we have any more questions," she told him.

He took out a business card and handed it to her.

"That's my cell number."

She reciprocated by giving him one of hers.

"Stay away from my safehouse, Mr. Madison," she said, standing up.

"I don't have any reason to go there again," he pointed out as he stood up, as well.

Beckett would have someone keep an eye on him anyway. Just to make sure.


	32. Chapter 32

Montgomery had joined Castle and the others in the viewing room in time to catch the end of Beckett's conversation with Madison. He looked up when Beckett joined them after releasing Madison.

"Well?"

She shrugged.

"I don't think he's involved, but I'm going to have him watched as long as he's in town."

The captain nodded. That was what he'd have done, too.

"And the safehouse?"

"It's compromised," Beckett said. "We can't go back there."

"But he's an ex cop," Castle objected.

"That doesn't mean anything, Castle," Esposito told him. "Cops can always good bad – and even if they don't this guy has family involved. You never know."

"And we can't risk it," Kate said. "We'll have to move you."

"Where to?" Ryan asked.

Beckett looked over at Montgomery.

"A hotel won't work – not with Castle."

They'd discussed that, too, when they'd originally talked about putting him up.

"Right. How about your place?"

She frowned.

"My place?"

"Why not?"

She hesitated, thinking about it, and then shrugged. Her place was as safe as any. She was off the grid almost as much as the safehouse and at her place she knew who belonged and who didn't. Not to mention that Castle had been there often enough that if one of her neighbors happened to see him they wouldn't think anything of it.

"That's fine," she said, surprising Castle, who hadn't expected anyone to agree to that. How safe could Beckett's place be, he wondered. She didn't have security cameras all over the place as far as he knew.

"Wait," Castle objected. "Why not my place? I have security in my building…"

"Your place is the first place I'd look for you if I wanted to find out what you know," Esposito said.

"Not to mention your security isn't all that secure," Ryan added.

"You don't want to go to Beckett's?" Montgomery asked.

"I'll go wherever you guys want me to," Castle told him. "I just don't want to be more trouble than I already have…"

Beckett knew that he meant he didn't want to impose on her more than he thought he already had, but the more she thought about it, the more her place made sense.

"You're not," she assured him. She even made it sound like she meant it – because she was sincere. She looked over at Esposito and Ryan. "Have someone bring our things from the safehouse?"

She wasn't going to take Castle back there, after all.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it," Ryan told her.

"I'm going to finish digging into Bridget's background," Esposito said. "I'll let you know if I find Jeremy anywhere."

"Thank you."

"And I'm going to start an investigation to find out who told Mr. Madison where you were," Montgomery stated. Madison didn't need to tell them who told him; that was what Internal Affairs was for, after all. His detectives' safety wasn't something Montgomery was going to play games with.

They all dispersed, and Castle and Beckett went to the break room to get some coffee.

"Now what?" He asked her as they walked back to her desk and sat down.

She looked at the clock on the wall, surprised how late it was getting. Then she realized that she was hungry. It'd been a long time since they'd eaten, after all.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starved. Early dinner? Late lunch?"

"Can you wait until we get to my place?"

"Do you have _food_ at your place?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I think we could find something."

"Then I can wait."

"Let's go then."

They stopped long enough to let the others know they were leaving, which would start the increased patrol activity in Beckett's neighborhood. Once again, she had Ryan follow her for a while before they actually headed for Beckett's – just to make sure they weren't being followed by anyone. Eventually Ryan peeled off to head to the old safehouse and Beckett and Castle turned for her place.

OOOOOOOOO

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to find it."

"The cops have probably already got it."

"No. If they did, they'd have announced it."

"Maybe he doesn't know where it is… Maybe she didn't tell him."

"She told him. There's no way she could have kept her mouth shut once she started talking. Not to him."

"The cops have him. You're not going to get close to him to ask – assuming he would tell you anyway."

The sound of a gun cocking resounded loudly in the room.

"He'll tell me."

"You should have just killed him when you had the chance."

"I know."

"How are you going to get him from the cops?"

"I'll worry about that. You worry about finding him for me."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? They're called safehouses for a reason."

"That's your problem."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Well this is a problem…"

Castle looked over Beckett's shoulder and couldn't help but agree.

"I thought you said you had food?"

"I _do_ have food."

"A half gallon of spoiled milk and some eggs are not food, Kate," he pointed out.

"I thought there was more than that."

She closed the fridge with an annoyed sigh, and walked over to the pantry with Castle following her. She could hear his stomach rumbling, and was pretty hungry herself, so she couldn't even give him a hard time for it.

"This is a little better," he murmured, once again looking over her shoulder.

There was pasta, plenty of canned goods and some boxed meals. Maybe they wouldn't starve, after all.

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Go find something to do, Castle."


	33. Chapter 33

_Author's note: Sorry about the wait on this, I had double shifts the last couple of days and no time to write!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Rather than be underfoot while she cooked, Castle wandered into the living room, looking around – although he'd been there often enough that the place wasn't new for him like the safehouse had been. He looked through her bookcase – many of them were his own novels, of course – and found a small stack of crossword puzzle and variety puzzle books. Figuring that those would be good for something to do later on, he picked up a couple and set them on the coffee table for later, and sat down on the couch, picking up the remote for her TV. He already knew that she was a fan of a certain soap opera – they'd had that discussion over a case once – but he was really surprised just how many episodes were in her DVR. It wasn't a show that he watched, so he skipped those and looked for something interesting to keep his mind occupied with something besides the current case.

Eventually, though, he turned the TV off and set the remote down on the magazines.

"Nothing on?" Beckett asked him, walking into the living room.

"No. Not really." He smiled. "And no way to spy on the neighbors."

Her return smile was amused.

"I'll work on that." She came over and sat by him. "Dinner is going to be a while, do you want something to snack on while it's baking?"

"No. It's okay; I can wait."

They sat beside each other in comfortable silence for a little while, but Castle couldn't help but think about what had been going on. He sighed, and leaned back against the couch cushions.

"So I am going to the Haunt… I see Jimmy and get out of the cab and follow him into the back hallway of Bridget's place. I… something happens and I end up beat up and locked in the closet and Jimmy ends up dead…"

"So far it sounds about right, considering the evidence we have."

She was used to him running through their cases step by step like this – although it was never as personal as it was just then – and she was more than willing to go through the steps with him if it would help.

"Then what?" he asked. "Jeremy and Bridget have something they wanted fenced but Jimmy is dead now, so… they must have had to go to a different fence, then…. Yes?"

"Makes sense. But if it's really expensive like we expect, then they couldn't use just anyone – and they'd have to be careful who they discussed it with. It's very possible a fence might turn them in for a possible reward rather than deal with making something too valuable disappear."

"Huh." Castle rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "I wish I knew what the gift is," he muttered, frustrated. "If I knew, I could tell you and you might have a better idea who to ask about it…"

"We don't know for certain that you ever saw it," Beckett pointed out.

"I know where it is, though…" he said. "I remember… I remember her voice telling me that she couldn't tell me – or he'd kill us both – but I know she told me. I just _know_ it."

"You're trying too hard to remember," she told him. Again.

"He could already be fencing it and getting away."

"Or he could be looking for it. Whatever it is." She put her hand on his knee, trying to calm him. "Do you think she told you what it is?"

He shook his head.

"No. I don't think I know what it is. I think that it's small, though."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because they hid it for so many years?"

"Or maybe she – or he – mentioned something that would make you think that."

"Maybe."

"Close your eyes and relax," Beckett suggested. "Maybe it'll come to you…"

He sighed, but did as he was told. She knew, though, immediately, that as tense as he was he wasn't going to be able to remember anything. The pattern she was seeing was that he tended to remember things when he was asleep – or when he wasn't trying to think of it. They were having better luck when things were just popping into his head. The problem with that, though, was that he was getting frustrated by not knowing. Not that she blamed him.

"Nothing," he told her, almost immediately, opening his eyes.

"You're trying too hard, Castle."

"I don't know how _not_ to…" His entire body practically screamed his frustration – but she knew it was all directed at himself and she definitely felt for him, even if she didn't understand how it felt to not be able to remember something that was clearly so important.

"Let me help," she said, shifting a little beside him before she took his hand, turned her back against him and then used her hold on him to bring his arm around her. She caught his other hand and held both of them in front of her – against her stomach – and leaned back against his chest, careful not to bump the bruises that were only just starting to fade. She felt him tense against her, uncertain, but when she relaxed a little, with her hands still holding his against her he shifted a little to get more comfortable and then tried to relax as well. "Better?"

He sighed, and she felt it more than heard it, since she was so close to him.

"Better," he agreed. His breath was warm against her ear, but his body was still tense – although she had a feeling it was for a different reason, now.

"Close your eyes," she told him. "And try not to think of anything…"

"Easier said than done."

"I know." Her hands tightened on his. She wouldn't tell him, but she rather liked his arms around her. "Just try, okay?"

She closed her eyes as well, and settled against him, allowing him to cradle her in his arms. As she relaxed further, so did he, and she knew that much was working, at least. His arms tightened a little on her, but his hands carefully stayed in hers, not straying any higher – or any lower, for that matter. He breathed deeply once, and then again, and for a long moment they were both quiet, simply being a comfort to the other.

Castle found that he really was beginning to relax. Not something he'd ever have thought he'd be able to do with Kate Beckett's body so close to his own and his arms around her almost possessively. Her thumb stroked the side of his hand as he relaxed, and the motion was almost hypnotic, helping him clear his head of anything distracting – aside from her, of course, and since she wasn't doing anything more than simply helping him focus, she was far less of a distraction than he'd ever thought possible. Surprisingly – or maybe not – he found that with his eyes closed and blocking out everything else it wasn't as hard to allow his thoughts to drift back to those memories as it had been.

"Okay…" he murmured more to himself, but aloud so she would know where his thoughts were going. "They're arguing…"

"Jeremy and Bridget?"

"Yes."

"About the gift?"

"Yes."

"What are they saying?" she asked him, softly.

"She wants to sell it. He thinks they need to wait."

"For what?"

"Someone is coming."

"Who?"

"I don't know. She doesn't like him, though. She told me that he cheated them before and she thinks that he'll do it again."

"Did she tell you his name?"

"I don't…" she felt him begin to tense as he tried to force the memory, and her hand brushed against his arm, gentling him before he could lose the calm that they were both enveloped in. He relaxed. "I don't think she told me. No. Jeremy mentioned him. I heard him. Roger."

"Roger. Good. Who is he?"

"I'm not sure. I think he's-"

A knock on the door startled both of them and Beckett jumped up with a muttered curse. She'd been so close! Castle looked almost dazed, and she frowned, wondering if he was okay. The person at the door knocked again and her phone alerted her to a text. Ryan was letting her know he was the one at the door. Of course, she checked the peephole anyway – better safe than sorry – and then she opened the door. The detective was carrying the bag she'd left at the safehouse as well as Castle's.

"How's it going?" he asked, entering her apartment and setting the bags on the floor.

"We're fine."

"Need anything?"

She looked over at Castle, who was looking more alert. He shook his head to tell her he was fine, and she turned back to Ryan.

"I think we're okay. Did Esposito find anything in Bridgett's history?"

"We're waiting for her school yearbooks to be sent over. We should have them by morning."

Not everything was available on the Internet unfortunately.

"All right." Beckett checked the time. "Do what you guys can, and then go ahead and call it a day."

"That's what we figured. I think I got everything out of the safehouse, but call me and let me know if something is missing and I can pick it up on my way in tomorrow."

"Thanks," Castle told him, sincerely. He didn't want to have to use Beckett's toiletries, after all. They were more lavender and vanilla than he preferred.

"Sure thing."

Ryan didn't stick around and Beckett turned to Castle once she'd closed the door behind him. He gave her a wry smile.

"Almost had it, huh?"

"Pretty close," she agreed. She sat down beside him. "They seemed to have argued often…"

He didn't need to ask her who she meant by 'they'. Instead he nodded.

"All the time."

She wanted to try getting him relaxed again, but Beckett had a feeling that he'd been shaken when they'd been startled by Ryan, and she didn't want that to happen again. His nerves were already fairly well shot, she knew. She reached for his hand, but made no move to lean against him again. Instead she simply sat with him.

"You want to try again?" Castle asked.

"Let's wait until after we eat," she suggested. "Then we can focus on it a little more and with less distraction."

He relaxed without even realizing just how tense he'd been and Beckett knew they'd made a good decision. They had all night, after all.


	34. Chapter 34

Rather than let him sit and brood while they waited for dinner to finish – which Beckett knew he'd do if given the opportunity – the two of them did crossword puzzles. She was pretty good at them, and enjoyed doing them, but Castle was a master, simply due to the fact that he worked with words every day and had an impressive vocabulary. He did his in pen. Beckett used pencil, and every now and then would ask him the answer to one of the few she couldn't eventually puzzle out. It was enough to occupy them until dinner.

It was Castle who pulled the baking pan out of the oven and served them dinner, stating that it was the least he could do since she'd made it. They both ate hungrily since they'd skipped lunch and unlike the safehouse, Beckett had a dishwasher, so clean up was a snap. While she loaded the dishwasher Castle vanished into the bathroom and changed into sweats and a t-shirt since they didn't have any plans to go anywhere. Might as well be comfortable, after all. She did the same once she was done, but then she had him sit on the couch and she washed his hair with the special product that Doctor Cutter had given them. It was used for people in the hospital who couldn't get out of bed to wash or rinse their hair and didn't require any water, which was perfect. She washed around the stitches, but everywhere else was shiny and clean by the time she was done.

Castle brought a hand up – wincing when his shoulder complained – and smiled when he felt it.

"Better?" she asked, already knowing the answer just from his body language.

"Much. Thanks."

Beckett smiled, too, and brushed her hand along his neck, not at all surprised that his muscles were all tense. She was surprised his head wasn't pounding from the tension alone – not to mention the stitched wound.

"You're welcome."

She kneaded his neck a little, just trying to ease the muscles and almost laughed when he tilted his head to the side to give her complete access. Obviously he was all for a massage, even a short one. She complied; rubbing his neck until the muscles had loosened considerably, and then going to his shoulders where she tried to massage those aching muscles as well. When he remained tense, though, she knew that the strained muscles were better off left alone, and she patted his shoulder carefully and then came around and sat down beside him.

"That was nice," he told her, taking her hand.

"You're tense."

"I know." He squeezed the hand he was holding. "Can't help it."

"We'll figure it out," she promised him.

He nodded and put his arm around her, pulling her against him with a sigh.

"Well… ready for that retry?"

He sounded a little reluctant, but she could understand that completely. It was a scary thing, after all, for him to try and remember memories of people beating him up and constantly threatening to kill him.

"Not yet," Beckett told him. She was already cuddled against him, but she wasn't ready to force him to face those memories yet. "Let's just sit and watch TV for a while. I'm not ready for anything more than that just now."

That surprised Castle, but he couldn't help but be relieved, and he relaxed without even realizing that he'd started tensing up. She was warm beside him, and he liked that she was letting him hold her – no matter what the reason. Beckett reached for the remote and turned the TV on and Castle leaned back and watched as she flipped through the channels in search of something interesting to watch. She settled on a made for TV movie – a mystery – and tossed the remote onto the coffee table and then cuddled against him until they were both comfortable, with one arm draped lazily over his stomach and his arm over her shoulder, which was low enough that he didn't have to strain his shoulder in order to do it.

"I'm not sure who Roger is," Castle told her abruptly only ten minutes into the show. She was surprised that he'd been thinking about any of it, really, because as close as she was to him, she hadn't felt him tense at all. "I _know_ I heard the name, though…"

"We'll have Esposito and Ryan look for that name, too, while they're checking the yearbooks from Bridget's college."

"Okay."

"Do you remember how you got away?"

That was something she was curious about, but hadn't really had the opportunity to ask.

He was quiet for a long time, but she knew that wasn't because he hadn't heard her or was ignoring the question. She figured he was probably trying to think about it and see if it would come to him. Since it was a memory that had nothing to do (as far as they knew) with someone threatening him or beating him, it wasn't a thought that made him tense – and it was something he honestly hadn't thought about, either, so he was curious, too.

He closed his eyes and tried to think back, his free hand blindly finding the one she had rested on his stomach. Thinking that he was looking for comfort – or maybe just a little support – Beckett held it, but Castle wasn't paying attention just then.

"I remember it being really quiet," he finally said. "Maybe they'd been gone a while or something, I'm not sure. I wouldn't have tried to get away if I knew they were on the other side of the wall, so they must have mentioned leaving, I suppose. No, there had been another argument – not a really loud one – but enough that he left…"

Castle trailed off, and Beckett waited. When he didn't say anything, she finally had to speak up.

"And Bridget?"

"I remember her coming in."

"Into the room you were in?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "The more I remember, the more I wonder how she ended up mixed up with him. She seemed unhappy."

"She _locked_ you in a closet, Rick," Kate reminded him, again.

"Maybe she didn't," he said. "Maybe it was _Jeremy_. It _probably_ was Jeremy."

"She knew you were there, and knew you needed medical help, and she _let_ it happen."

Beckett wasn't as forgiving.

"True." Castle thought a bit. "She came in… and gave me a drink, I think, and then told me she had to go-" He tensed. "She had to go check on the gift. To make sure it was still where she'd hidden it. She said that she'd need it, later."

"To sell it?"

"I'm not sure. Probably. She kissed me and left."

"She _kissed_ you?"

"Yes." He frowned. "Odd, isn't it?"

"From what you said earlier, she was a fan – and she had you all to herself and helpless."

"Like in _Misery_, huh?" Castle murmured. "Scary movie."

"Mmmhmmm." She couldn't agree more. "Then what?"

"I don't know… I remember thinking that I had to get away because something was going to happen… but I don't remember what – if I even knew – and I'm not sure how I got free."

"Crime scene guys are saying that you probably broke the wooden bar above your head and it came down on your head."

He thought about that, but finally had to shake his head.

"I don't remember that."

"They found your blood – at least blood that matches your type – on the broken end. It's either that or someone hit you over the head with it, but they didn't find any fingerprints on the end where someone would have held it."

"Oh."

"So you got free…"

"I got free, and then… it gets fuzzy."

"That's probably when you cut your head," she pointed out. "You might not _ever_ remember it."

"I know…"

"Once we figure out what the gift is, we might be able to figure out where it's hidden – or who Jeremy might use to fence it."

"I wish I knew what it was."

Beckett could feel that he was beginning to tense again and she brought his hand up to her lips and pressed a soft kiss against it.

"_I_ wish you could remember who Roger was. That might be helpful."

"I'm no help at all," Castle told her, feeling a great big wave of self-pity wash over him out of absolutely nowhere. It came so quick, he couldn't even stop it – and he couldn't censor himself. "I _don't_ remember getting caught, I _don't_ remember getting away and what little I _do_ remember isn't worth remembering because we can't use it for anything…"

Kate sat up, surprised at the hopelessness in his voice.

"It's not that bad, Rick. You're remembering more and more every time you try."

"It's not enough. All we got from it is a few names – and some rock that we don't even know where it is – much less what the fuss is about it."

Beckett frowned.

"A rock?"

"What?"

"You said a rock," she told him. "Did you mean the gift?"

Castle covered his eyes with one hand and leaned back.

"I don't know."

"Did you hear someone – Jeremy, maybe – call it a rock?"

"I don't know."

"Castle-"

"I _don't_ _know_, Kate!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry."

She'd pushed him too hard, and she knew it. She just hadn't been able to help herself.

He deflated immediately.

"No. I am. Please… I… I'm sorry… I had no right to yell…" he sighed and rubbed his face with the hand that had been covering his eyes. "I don't know why I said rock. It might not mean anything. I might just be-"

"It could be a diamond," Beckett told him. "We'll have Esposito and Ryan check on that in the morning.

"We could just look it up now," Castle said.

"No. Not while we're safehoused. No Internet, no calls on an unsecured phone. My phone has Internet, but the web isn't secure, only the calls and the tracking. We'll remember, and we'll call it in in the morning. Or go in, if we need to."

"And until then I'll try to keep remembering…" he said.

"No." She'd pushed him, but now she was going to haul him back. "You're going to bed."

"But-"

"With me."

"Um… okay…"


	35. Chapter 35

_Author's note: So it took me a bit to decide where I wanted to go vis-à-vis Castle and Beckett's relationship. I want to keep the characters as true to form as I can, while still having my way with them, so to speak. So here we go, and there will be more coming later! Thanks for the reviews, guys! It's nice to know people are reading._

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle had never been in Beckett's bedroom. Yes, he'd been to her place many times, but by unspoken mutual consensus, that had been one room that had seemed to be completely off limits even to his eternal snooping. Now, however, she took his hand and led him to the doorway.

"Stay here for a second…"

She let him go long enough to go turn on the light beside the bed so he wouldn't stumble in the dark room. Beckett pulled the blankets back and looked over at him, but when he didn't voluntarily join her, she went back to the doorway again walked with him over to the bed.

"Kate…"

He sounded reluctant – or uncertain – she wasn't sure which. "You don't have to… I mean, I'm not…"

"Get in bed, Rick," she told him, gently. "It's okay." Castle did as he was told, and Beckett joined him, pulling the blankets up over the two of them and then snuggling close to him. He reacted by putting his arm around her, and she found herself pressed against his chest. He sighed, and she was close enough that she felt it as if it had been her own.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I understand why you did. I pushed harder than you could handle at that moment. I'm sorry, too."

She felt him bury his face in her hair, and she reached up to run her fingers through his, careful to avoid the stitches. She wasn't going to force any conversation if he wasn't willing. For that matter, she was willing to simply hold him and be held by him until he was feeling better.

"It _could_ be a diamond," he said, eventually, after a while. "That would be small and can be valuable enough to be right up Jimmy's alley."

"Or maybe more than one?" she asked.

"No." She felt him shake his head, but didn't see it. Of course, she still had her cheek against his chest. She could feel the rumble through his torso every time he spoke, and when they'd been quiet she could hear his heart beating. "Neither of them used plurals when they were talking about the gift. Whatever it is, there's only one."

She was willing to take his word for that.

"Would a diamond be worth pretending you were dead for five years?"

"The Hope diamond is worth 350 million."

Beckett wasn't surprised that he would know that.

"That would be worth it."

"You and I both know it's enough to kill someone for."

They'd seen cases where people had killed for much less.

"Yes." He trembled, suddenly, and she had a feeling that he was thinking that 350 million was reason enough to kill a nosy writer, too. He'd been so lucky. She pressed a kiss against his chest, unable to reach anywhere else. "It's okay."

He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, but his grip didn't relax, and neither did his body. She was close enough to be able to tell. Her attempts to get him to relax weren't working, and the conversation wasn't helping. Beckett ran her hand along his side, feeling his muscles tense even through the fabric of his shirt.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him, well aware she was close to some of his bruises.

"Just aches," he told her after a moment. Castle hurt all the time, so it actually took him a bit to figure out where he ached the most and what parts didn't hurt as much as they had only days before. "My shoulders hurt the most."

"I can understand that."

"_And_ the hickey you gave me."

Beckett was so startled by that, she actually snorted. Which made him grin, amused.

"Why don't I believe you?"

"I don't know… it's true."

"Poor baby."

She tilted her head up and brushed a kiss somewhere near the area of the hickey, but not close enough to taste the makeup she'd used to cover it. He made a pleased noise at that, and Beckett felt him start to relax against her, finally.

"Katherine Beckett…" he murmured. "Are you seducing me?"

"No."

"Awww…"

She smiled, and slid her hand under his shirt, brushing her fingers against his belly. Now he tensed again, but in a completely different way.

"But if I _were_…?" she asked. "Then what?"

"I'd have to decline."

He didn't move away from her hand, though, and the arm that he had around her tightened so she wouldn't move away. Castle _liked_ her touching him, and he loved that he was holding her. But although he wanted her in the worst way – and he _did_ – he wasn't sure this was the time for it.

"Really?"

"For now," he told her, quickly.

"Why?"

She hadn't missed the way he tightened his hold on her.

"Because I'm not in the right state of mind to be able to give you as much attention as you'd deserve – and as much as I'd _want_ to. It wouldn't be fair. _Or_ as enjoyable. And my arms hurt too much to hold myself up for very long…"

Maybe.

Beckett smiled at that, and was surprised. Not that he had come to that conclusion; Castle wasn't as shallow as he'd probably like to be, after all, and he wasn't as immature as he once had been. She was more surprised that he'd answered so explicitly, really. No hemming and hawing, so to speak.

"You're probably right."

"Yeah."

Her hand slid up to his chest, though, brushing against his skin tenderly.

"You won't mind if I do _this_, though, right?"

"No…" He closed his eyes, leaning into the pillows a little more and holding completely still and giving himself up to her touch. "You can do that."

"Good." She brushed her fingers against his skin, the motion as hypnotic as any before and as soothing as it was exciting. He made a pleased noise and surprisingly, she felt him relax even further, despite her attentions – or maybe because of them? Beckett wasn't sure how long she continued what she was doing, but it was a long time before she stopped what she was doing long enough to roll over and turn the lamp off. When she started to roll back, though, she felt his arm come around her and pull her snugly back against him, her back to his front.

"My turn…" he murmured in her ear, his hand sliding under the hem of her shirt, now. It was her turn to tense, now, and Castle smiled as he felt her reaction to his hand stroking her stomach. "I'm not seducing you…"

"I know."

"It feels good though, huh?"

"M-hmmm."

"Yeah…"

His hand was just as soothing as hers were, she was pleased to learn, but there was definitely a promise of other things that were possible, and it was enough to make her breath catch every now and then until she eventually had to catch his hand in hers, and still his touch. He chuckled, and she smiled, even though he couldn't see it since her back was to him.

"You're doing great, Rick," she told him, sincerely, and her tone made it clear that she wasn't referring to where his hand was. "I promise."

"Thank you." His lips pressed against the back of her neck and she shivered at the touch. Castle felt it and pulled the covers up over them both before he returned his hand to where it had been. "I _do_ get a rain check, right?"

"We'll see…"


	36. Chapter 36

When Beckett woke fully the sun was shining through her bedroom window in a way that told her she'd slept much later than she'd expected. She wasn't in any hurry to wake up, either, and allowed herself the luxury of slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. Castle was still asleep, she decided, listening to his soft even breathing. He'd slept through the night, as far as she could tell. He'd shifted a couple of times, but the motions had been accompanied my soft pained noises, which led her to believe he'd only been trying to get more comfortable. She'd woken each time he'd moved, but he'd simply reclaimed his gentle hold on her and had gone back to sleep – if he'd even been awake in the first place.

As she woke a bit more, Beckett realized that his hand had slid quite a bit higher while he'd been sleeping and was now cupping her breast – what was it about guys and breasts? she wondered sleepily, more amused than anything else, really. It wasn't like he was groping her, after all, and she had to admit – to herself – that it was a nice way to wake up. But now she was ready to get up, and if she could, she was going to do it without waking him. Gently disengaging his hold, she slid his hand back to her stomach and then rolled out from his embrace. He shifted a little and muttered something, but she thought she might have managed it.

"Kate?"

Or not. Beckett sat down in the spot she'd just vacated and brushed her fingers along his forehead and cheek.

"Shhhh… go back to sleep."

He opened his eyes.

"It's morning?"

"Yes."

He closed his eyes again and caught her hand.

"I'm sleepy."

"I know."

"Come back to bed."

"No." she leaned over and brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, which made him open his eyes again. "I'm going to go get a shower. Go back to sleep."

He stretched a little, and winced when he stretched bruised muscles.

"Okay…"

She watched as he closed his eyes and then she pulled the blankets back up over him before she got up and headed for the door.

"Kate?"

"Hmmm?"

"I could join you…"

Since he sounded like he was already falling asleep, she was pretty sure the offer was half-hearted at best. It made her smile, though, and her voice was amused when she replied.

"Maybe another time."

"M'kay…"

She left him to his sleep and stopped only long enough to grab some clean clothes before heading for the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOO

When Castle woke next it was to the smell of bacon and coffee permeating through the bedroom. He stretched and sat up, rubbing his eyes, sleepily. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well, and he knew he hadn't had a single nightmare. He was half tempted to go back to sleep, but his stomach growled so loudly that it actually cramped and he knew he'd never be able to sleep so hungry. Like it or not, his day was going to start.

Beckett was sitting at the table reading the newspaper while eating a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

"Do you eat like this all the time?" he asked, walking over in bare feet and still rubbing his face sleepily.

She looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Bacon and eggs? That can't be good for you…"

His tone was amused, though, and he was already looking for his share, hoping he wasn't going to have to fry his own. Bacon took _forever_ to cook properly.

"It's good enough for my dad," she told him with a smile. "Besides, there's _toast_, too…"

"Oh, toast. Well, that makes all the difference."

He didn't see any toast. He _did_ see a plate of already cooked bacon, though, and he could fry his own eggs and toast his own bread. That was the easy part.

"Where did you get the bacon?"

He hadn't seen bacon in the fridge before. The eggs he had noticed.

"The freezer."

"Oh."

"What do you normally have for breakfast?" she asked, curiously, taking a bite of her toast.

"Depends."

"On?"

"If Alexis is home or not. If she is, I'll make pancakes, or omelets."

"And if she isn't?"

"Toast."

Beckett smiled at that.

"Truthfully, I don't usually get more than a muffin or something like that. But since I have extra time…" she let it trail off.

He let the conversation drop and pulled some eggs from the holder on the inside of the door. As he broke them into the frying pan and turned on the burner, he looked over his shoulder to see if she'd gone back to reading the paper. She was watching him, so he asked her another question.

"Have you talked to Ryan or Esposito yet?"

"No. I thought we'd go into the precinct, instead. Unless you want to hang out here?"

"No. I'd rather go in and see what they find out."

Since she'd expected him to say that, she wasn't surprised.

"Why don't you go get dressed and I'll finish making your breakfast?"

He accepted immediately, broke the yolks on his eggs – he'd make a bacon and egg sandwich – and headed for the bedroom to get his bag.

OOOOOOOOOO

Twenty minutes later he and Beckett walked off the elevator and into the precinct. Esposito and Ryan were at Ryan's desk, and they were so engrossed in what they were looking at that neither of them saw the other two approach.

"What do you have?" Beckett asked curiously.

Ryan jumped, startled, and she smiled an apology at him. Esposito held up the book he was holding.

"We just got Bridget Hart's year books from college."

"Any luck?" Castle asked.

"We just started looking," Ryan told him.

"We might have a lead on the gift," Beckett said.

"Oh?"

"Castle mentioned a 'rock' when we were talking about it."

"A diamond?" Esposito asked.

"One way to find out," Castle replied. He looked at Beckett for permission and at her nod sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. He was an experienced researcher, after all – even more so than the detectives, most likely. If there was something to be found, he'd find it.

Beckett debated hovering over his shoulder, but knew he didn't need her help. The guys didn't, either. There were two year books, and two of them. She looked at them, and then went to the break room. Coffee.


	37. Chapter 37

As it turned out, experience wasn't even needed. Beckett was still in the break room finishing up a cup of coffee the way Castle liked it – she'd already done her own – and she happened to look out the window toward the desks when she saw both Esposito and Ryan get up and move to stand behind Castle, looking at the computer screen. Knowing that he'd found something, she gathered both cups of coffee and headed for her desk. He'd been watching for her and gave her a triumphant and slightly relieved smile.

"What did you find?" she asked, setting his coffee on the desk before looking at the screen. The computer monitor was showing a picture of what definitely was a diamond.

"The gift," Castle told her. "Only it's not really called that, it's officially know as the Wolcox Diamond. But it's nicknamed 'The Gift' because the original owner gave it away." He looked back at the screen, but continued talking. "It was originally found in Africa, but passed hands a few times and wound up in Brazil where it was finally purchased by a consortium of museums who took turns displaying it. Until it was stolen…"

"Five years ago?"

He smiled.

"Yes. It was being going to be displayed in LA when it went missing in a daylight robbery during transport."

"Guess who was in charge of that…"

"Jeremy?"

"No. A man named Arden Rogers."

She gave him a sharp look.

"You mentioned that Jeremy was talking about someone named Roger."

"Only I must have heard it wrong."

"Not too surprising," Ryan pointed out.

"Look up Arden Rogers," Beckett told Esposito. "See what we know about him."

He nodded and headed back to his desk, while the rest of them continued looking at the screen on Beckett's computer.

"So what is that diamond worth?" Ryan asked, curiously.

"About 700million," Castle replied.

"_Dollars_?" Ryan's expression was astounded.

The writer nodded, looking over his shoulder at Beckett.

"Makes the Hope Diamond look like a bauble."

"And is definitely something that would require someone like your friend Jimmy to handle, huh?"

"Yeah. It also explains why a whole bunch of museums went together to buy it."

"Hey," Esposito caught their attention before they could continue the conversation. "Our man Arden Rogers was questioned at the time of the robbery and claimed to have known nothing about it. He was in charge of hiring the security company and had accompanied them during the transfer and was injured during the robbery. They cleared him of any possibility of involvement."

"Well at least he didn't _die_ five years ago," Beckett said. "So we can track him down."

"He's here in New York," Esposito told them.

"How convenient," Ryan said.

"Can you bring him in?" Castle asked Beckett.

"For what?" she asked. "Because you heard the name Roger while being held hostage in a closet – and had a head wound that makes your memory less than dependable? Not a chance."

His expression fell, and she put her hand on his shoulder. She wasn't trying to pick on him, she just had to make him understand their lack of options just then. It didn't mean they didn't have any, though.

"Don't worry, Castle," she assured him. "We know his name, and we can watch him. Hopefully he'll lead us to the diamond – and to Jeremy."

"We still have the year books," Esposito reminded them. "We only just started looking."

Beckett nodded.

"And now that we know what the gift is, we can watch the high end fences and look for someone trying to move a very expensive diamond."

Castle sighed, deflated. He'd been so excited that he had found out what the gift was, and that there really was a Roger and he was someone that was close by and might have the rest of the answers he was missing. She was right, though, about not having a reason for bringing the guy in. Even if he didn't like that.

"So what do I do?" he asked.

"You can help look through the year books," Beckett told him. "You know what Jeremy looks like, too, so you might spot him in one." She stopped when her cell phone rang and looked at the display before answering. A slight smile touched her lips and she murmured something to the person on the other end before holding it out to Castle. "Or you can talk to your daughter."

His eyes lit up.

"Really?"

She handed it over to him and he got up so she could have her desk back. Beckett smiled at the change in his expression and was glad to see it. She watched him as he chatted with Alexis, and could almost figure out what they were discussing just by watching his face. He was cheerful when she was telling him about the trip itself, and then his whole expression clouded when she was telling him about the schools themselves. Of course, she was a trained observer of people, so that probably helped give her some insight as well.

Esposito went back to looking through the information he'd found on Rogers, while Ryan started thumbing through the year book on his desk and Beckett turned her attention back to the screen and the diamond that was displayed there. It was a very pretty stone, she had to admit, but wasn't worth killing for as far as she was concerned. It was amazing what it was worth, though, and as she continued reading about the theft, she wondered what role Jeremy and Bridget had played in it, and if Rogers had allowed himself to be injured to keep the suspicion off him during the investigation. She was still considering that when Castle returned to her desk and sat in the chair that was pretty much considered his.

"How's the trip going?" she asked, looking over.

He sighed.

"They're having a good time."

"But…"

"There's no but. She's smart enough that the colleges are rolling out the red carpet for her and showing her a very good time. Making their pitches and trying to get her interested…"

"That's good."

Castle scowled.

"I suppose."

"How much longer will they be gone?"

"She asked if I minded if they stayed on the west coast a little longer – now she wants to check out Montana."

"Montana?"

He made a face and nodded.

"Something about veterinarian research that is supposedly ground-breaking…"

"Does she want to be a vet?"

"She mentioned it a few times when she was five," he muttered.

"Well, some kids know what they want even that young."

"Yeah, well…" he reached for the year book that Esposito had left for him to look at and opened it. "She wanted to be _Barney_, too."

Beckett grinned.


	38. Chapter 38

The initial excitement of discovery that began the morning faltered as the time passed into early afternoon. As many times as he looked through the year books they'd obtained from Bridget Hart's college there was indication in either of them that she had ever met anyone named Jeremy there. Esposito and Ryan looked through them both – as did Castle – each double-checking the others just to make sure no one had missed anything. Beckett left them to it, knowing that there wasn't any point in her looking as well since the three of them were just as good at it as she was. Castle had eventually sighed, and rested his head in his palm, which was braced by way of his elbow on her desk.

She looked over from her own research – she'd been studying what they had found on Rogers – and frowned.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"What? Oh, yes…" he shrugged. "I'm just a little disappointed, I suppose."

"Why?"

"Well, we know so much – sort of – but it doesn't do us any good. We still don't have anything solid."

"Sometimes it takes longer than other times," she said. "You know that."

"I know. I was just hoping that _this_ wasn't going to be one of those times."

She smiled, and could understand exactly how he was feeling. She'd hoped the same thing. And she wasn't the one who'd been beat up and locked away in a closet.

"Tired of my company?" she asked him, hoping to lighten his mood a bit.

It worked. His head came off his palm and his eyes lit up with amusement as he smiled.

"It's the only thing keeping me sane," he told her, sincerely. "Although I _am_ running out of clothes. Any chance we can go by my place and get clean stuff?"

"Not a chance."

"I guess I could run around your apartment _naked_…"

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"I'll see if Esposito and Ryan will go over and-"

"See if Esposito and Ryan will go over where?" Ryan asked, walking by just in time to hear that part of the conversation.

"Castle's running out of clean clothes to wear," Beckett answered.

"Sure, we can go grab him something."

"Nothing plaid," Castle told them.

Esposito had joined them by then and he raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do you actually _own_ plaid clothes?"

"No. But I just wanted to establish the ground rules."

"No plaid," Ryan said. "Got it."

"We can go now," Esposito said to his partner. "Get it, and then meet over at Beckett's with some lunch." He looked over at Castle and Beckett to see if they liked that plan or had something else in mind. Of course, they all knew that protection detail meant no drive thru food unless someone else brought it – and as Castle had already found out, no delivery, either.

"That sounds good," Beckett agreed. "We're not getting much more done here, so I'll take Castle back to my place and we'll meet you there."

"What's for lunch?" Ryan asked.

Since Castle's breakfast had only been a sandwich, he was all for lunch, and something filling. Beckett must have felt the same way.

"Pasta?"

The guys all nodded their agreement with that. Castle reached for his keys, but Ryan waved him off.

"We'll have your door guy let us in. That way if anyone is casing your place they'll know there's a police presence and will know there's no point."

Which was the whole reason for keeping Castle from his place just then, after all. He nodded his agreement, and the guys left. Beckett had a couple of things she needed to follow up on while they were at the precinct – other cases that had nothing to do with diamonds or anything else worth 700 million – so she worked on them while Castle took yet another look through the year books, simply for lack of anything else he could help with just then. He also looked up Rogers, hoping to find any kind of connection, but that didn't pan out, either. After a half hour or so, though, Beckett finished the report she'd been writing and turned to him.

"Ready?"

He nodded and set the year books aside and got up, stretching a little – everything but his arms, which still ached abominably.

Before he could do much more than that, though, Montgomery had joined them at Beckett's desk.

"How are things going?"

Beckett told the captain what they'd found out – and what they'd deduced by the information that Castle had been able to give them – and he listened intently while she spoke. He agreed with her that they wouldn't be able to actually make a move on Rogers without having at least some kind of connection with him and Jeremy or Bridget, and asked Castle about Alexis and his mother, worried that they might decide to come home early and maybe be in danger if his place was being watched. Castle assured him that it shouldn't be a problem, and told him about the conversation he'd had with Alexis just that morning.

"If they decide to come home before we get this figured out, we'll put them in a safehouse somewhere – just to make sure," Montgomery told him.

Castle nodded. He was pretty sure neither would like it, but better safe than sorry. Especially in this case.

"We're heading back to my place," Beckett told Montgomery.

"Good. Get some rest, you both look terrible."

Since Castle felt better than he had in days – it was amazing what a full night's sleep could do – he was going to deny that, but Beckett stepped on his toe before he could and simply nodded her head.

"I'll make sure of it, sir."

There wasn't any sense in arguing, after all. That's what she had planned, after all. Castle could use more sleep, whether he thought he needed it or not, and she figured if she filled him up with a heavy lunch he'd probably be able to at least doze on the sofa for a while.

Montgomery nodded and shooed them away, and they headed for the elevator.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"The guys should be done at your place by now," Beckett said as they drove back toward her place. "They might even be getting lunch."

"I hope they get some angel hair pasta…" Castle told her. "I love the way it…" He trailed off, noticing that Beckett was looking in the rear view mirror. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

She was still distracted, though.

"What do you see?"

"I thought I might have seen –"

"_Kate!"_ She'd been looking in the rearview mirror, but the true danger was coming straight at them and Castle saw it before she did.

The truck had been in the proper lane, driving a little faster than the posted speed limit but that wasn't unheard of in New York. Suddenly, though, when the traffic cleared in front of Beckett's car, the large vehicle veered into their lane, coming directly at them.

Beckett slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel, but the truck veered again, impossibly seeming to aim right at them. The impact slammed them to an instant stop and Beckett had only enough time to hear a yelp of pain from Castle before the airbag rushed at her with a pop and everything went black.


	39. Chapter 39

Rough hands shaking her shoulder pulled Beckett from the darkness that had engulfed her. For how long she wasn't sure. She wasn't completely sure what had just happened.

"Detective Beckett? Are you hurt?"

The voice was familiar, but she didn't know how she knew it. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and was struck with a sense of urgency that it took her a moment to understand. She turned her head, her hand coming up to brush the hair out of her face automatically, and saw that the passenger seat was empty. There was blood on the deflated airbag, though, and the urgency rose.

"Castle?" She looked around, vaguely aware that the red sheen on her own hand was almost certainly her own blood.

"They took him, Detective," the voice told her. "We need to get help."

Beckett turned and saw that the man who had shaken her was Adam Madison. The former police officer was still gripping the shoulder of her light jacket – which was what he'd been holding when he'd shaken her awake.

"What are you…" she trailed off, suddenly furious. She thought she'd seen his car and she'd been right. That distraction had been enough for her to wreck, and to lose Castle – and God only knew what was happening to him. "I _told_ you not to follow me, Mr. Madison. Now-"

"I wasn't following you, Detective," Madison interrupted. "I was following Rogers."

"What? How do you know about Rogers?"

"Bridget told me his name." He looked around. "Can you stand? Can you walk? You've got a pretty nasty cut on your head…"

She looked at her hand again and then into the rearview mirror, and decided that the airbag must have slammed her watch into her forehead, because he was right; she did have a nasty cut on her head.

"I need to find him…" She got out of the car and saw that the truck was still where it had crashed into them, and looked at Madison. "You were following Rogers?"

"Yes. I didn't realize he was after you until I saw the truck swerve at you and realized it was your car."

"What happened then?"

"A guy got out of the truck and him and Rogers grabbed the guy from your car and took off with him in Roger's car. Was he really Richard Castle?"

Beckett was already pulling her phone out of her pocket, and had speed-dialed Esposito's cell. She looked up, though, as it started to ring.

"How did you know about Castle?"

"Bridgett said she'd met him and that he was in danger. I didn't believe her."

By then Esposito had answered his phone, and Beckett ignored Madison long enough to tell him what had happened as succinctly as possible while still giving the information needed. Esposito only stopped her long enough to get an idea where she was, and then he hung up, already on his way to her location.

"Why didn't you mention Rogers when I was questioning you?" Beckett asked, calling dispatch to request backup. She knew that Esposito or Ryan – depending on who was driving – would call Montgomery and let him know what happened.

"Because I didn't know if it was _true_," Madison said. "You gotta understand; Bridget made up a lot of stories. She was manipulative and bright enough to make sure you didn't know she was playing you. I wasn't going to throw your investigation the wrong way by bringing in a player that might not mean anything. For God's sake, how was I supposed to know she really had met Richard Castle? That's exactly the kind of thing she'd have lied about."

"How long have you been following him?"

"Since you let me go."

"Do you know where they might have taken Castle?" She asked. "Any places that he seemed to be hiding out?"

"Maybe a few choices," Madison said, reaching into his pocket and handing Beckett a clean handkerchief so she could staunch the bleeding from her forehead. "I didn't want to get too close to him, so I can't tell you for certain."

By now there were several bystanders in the area, all looking at the wreckage of the cars and focusing on Beckett – mainly because she was bleeding and that was always interesting. A police cruiser pulled up as well, lights flashing to start getting those who could drive their cars around the wreck to do so and stop blocking traffic. The police officer got out and Beckett flashed her badge so he'd know who she was. He called in for more assistance – and an ambulance – and pulled the first aid kit out of his trunk and handed it to her before heading over to start clearing traffic. She was on her feet, after all, so he knew she wasn't in distress (medically, at least) and he needed to get the cars out of the way.

"We need to go, Detective," Madison told her. "They're getting away with him."

Beckett frowned.

"Why do you care, Mr. Madison?" she asked, just a little suspiciously. "You didn't even know who they took until I told you."

"I don't care about _who_ they took," he answered. "Just who did the taking. That son of a bitch killed my sister, and I'm going to make sure he doesn't get away just because she was on the wrong side of the law when he did it."

"That's not-"

"I know how it goes, Detective," he interrupted. "If she was an upstanding citizen, there'd be a dozen detectives on the case. She's not, so there's not. But I'm not going to let him get away."

"I'm not either, Mr. Madison," Beckett told him. "We need to wait for backup, though."

Beckett was concerned, but she wasn't without an ace in the hole, and it was the only thing keeping her from outright panic.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey! Wake up Sleeping Beauty!"

A face full of icy cold water jerked Castle from a nightmare of pain. He sputtered and jerked his head back, trying to clear his nose and mouth of water, only to gasp when an almost overwhelming wave of pain washed over him and woke him far more forcefully than the water that had been thrown on him ever could have. He convulsed, automatically, and groaned when the motion made every ache that much worse. Awake and somewhat aware, Castle realized immediately that his arms were being held above his head again – similar to how it had been before – and those barely healed muscles were once again forced to bear his weight. He tipped his head up and for a moment thought he was blindfolded because he couldn't see anything. Then he realized that he could see, but not very well, and the painful puffiness on his face made him think that the problem was swelling and not a blindfold. He somewhat remembered the airbag coming at him full force and he hadn't had any chance to protect himself. He hadn't had a chance to do anything to protect himself. Maybe he'd broken his nose.

Focusing a little, he could see that his hands had been tied with a stout rope, and then the rope was draped over a pulley that was well above him, and went somewhere else. He wasn't sure, and wasn't given a chance to do much more of an assessment than that before he felt someone hit him in the side.

Which made him convulse again, and forced another gasp of pain. He looked down – they'd taken his shirt off so there'd been nothing to protect him from the blow, although the thin fabric wouldn't have done much – and his chest and belly were smeared with blood and water. Unable to focus clearly – mentally and physically – it took him a moment to realize that someone had hit him, and that that someone was standing in front of him. Even longer to realize that there was more than one man.

He wasn't surprised to see Jeremy standing there, one hand holding a stick of some kind and a cruelly amused expression on his face. He didn't recognize the other man, although something told him he should.

"You with us, Writer?" Jeremy asked, swinging the stick again and making contact with Castle's ribcage this time. He grunted, but as much as he hurt already, the blow didn't seem to do anything more than help him focus on the one person he _wasn't_ seeing.

"_Kate…" _His voice was raspy and it hurt to say anything.

"Kate?" Jeremy repeated, walking closer to Castle. He had to look up just a little. Castle was taller than he was and the rope was holding him on his toes, which gave him a couple more inches over him. "Are you talking about the hot cop? She's _dead_, Writer. It's just us. And one of us is in a lot of trouble."

The other man stepped forward, now. He was shorter than Jeremy, but Castle thought he was just as dangerous.

"Where is my diamond?"


	40. Chapter 40

By the time Esposito and Ryan arrived at the ambush site, Beckett had managed to stop the flow of blood from her forehead. The ambulance had been closer than the other detectives and one of the paramedics had taken steps with a few butterfly sutures and an alcohol pad to close it as best as he could for the moment. She'd also given Beckett a couple of aspirin, which took the very edge off the pain, both in her head and the rest of her body. Everything ached. And she forgot all of it when she saw Ryan drive up.

"Do you have an address, yet?" she asked Esposito, who was fiddling with his phone in the passenger's seat.

"Yeah."

Beckett opened the back door, but Madison put his hand out, blocking her.

"What about me?"

"Go home, Mr. Madison," she told him. "This is a police matter."

"But my sister…"

"We'll take care of it."

"But-"

Beckett didn't have time to argue, even if she could completely understand what he was going through.

"Go home, Mr. Madison," she repeated. "If you follow us, or get in our way in any form I'll slap you with obstruction charges."

She didn't wait for his reply. Instead she got into the back of the car and shut the door before he could say anything else to her. Esposito looked back over his shoulder, frowning at all the blood.

"You okay?"

"They have Castle," she said. "We need more backup."

"They're on the way."

Ryan hadn't even turned off the car, so it was a simple matter for him to weave through the traffic away from the area and then look over at Esposito for directions. The detective looked at his phone again, traded a few words with the main dispatch coordinator and then gave his partner a series of directions – which included a final destination.

"Looks like they have him in the warehouse district," Ryan said, needlessly. Beckett knew the area as well as he did once they'd heard the address.

"Let's get there," she told them, leaning back and closing her eyes against a sudden starburst of pain above her eye. "And tell everyone to go in silently until we have more intel."

"Already did."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"I don't have your diamond," Castle said.

"I'm aware of that," the man snapped. "I didn't ask you if you _have_ it, I asked you where it is."

"I don't know."

"Bullshit." This time it was Jeremy who spoke. "I know Bridget told you. She couldn't keep her mouth shut."

"She didn't-"

Jeremy lashed out with the stick again, and Castle yelped at the impact.

"Where did she hide it?"

_"I don't know!"_

There was a moment of silence, and Castle opened his eyes and saw the two men looking at each other. He knew, though, that they'd never believe him. They didn't know where it was and the woman who had had it was dead and wouldn't ever tell them. He was their only means to 700million dollars and even if he swore on a stack of bibles, they'd be forced to not believe him by pure desperation and greed. Which was definitely going to hurt, because he was wracking his pain-befuddled brain and he had absolutely no idea where the gift was – even if Bridget really had told him.

The other man – and now Castle was beginning to think that this was Rogers – stepped forward again. He held up a small device in his hand and showed it to the writer.

"Do you know what this is, Mr. Castle?"

Too busy trying to get his lungs working against the pain, Castle ignored him.

"It's a stun gun, Writer," Jeremy answered for him. "Causes a lot of pain, but very little damage. Meaning we can play this game of yours all day, until you're ready to tell us what Bridget told you."

"She didn't tell me anything," Castle croaked. "All-"

"Liar! She was constantly in that damned closet with you. Talking to you, crooning to you, telling you all sorts of things, I imagine. What did she tell you, Writer?"

God. Not only desperate and greedy, but he was also _jealous_. There was no way this was going to end well.

"She didn't tell me anything," he repeated. "I-"

The man – maybe Rogers? – stabbed the end of the stun gun against Castle's side. Even though he knew it was coming, it still hurt, and Castle felt the muscles in that area freeze in the most painful way he'd ever imagined. It hurt so bad he couldn't even cry out, and when the jolt finally stopped, he sagged, completely breathless.

Jeremy stepped forward and grabbed him by his hair, forcing his head up.

"Where's the gift, Writer?"

"She…" Castle couldn't catch his breath. Luckily, they were both waiting to hear him admit that that he knew exactly where the diamond was and that he'd take them to it – if only they would spare him. Unfortunately, he didn't have that option. "She said… you'd kill her. And me."

"And so I will – and _did_," Jeremy told him, matter of factly. "But there are many ways to go. Tell me where the rock is and I'll put a bullet in your head and save you a lot of pain."

"Like you did her?"

He couldn't help it. He was a mystery writer and it was automatic that he would want the real story. Jeremy didn't seem to mind. In fact, he smiled.

"She was going to die anyway," he answered. "Bridgett was the weak link. I'm surprised she managed to keep quiet for as long as she did."

"This is all very nice," Rogers said, moving up again and pressing the stun gun against Castle's bare side. Castle tensed but the man didn't zap him. He just let the cool steel of the device do the threatening for him. "I want my diamond, Mr. Castle. Tell me where it it's hidden, or I'm going to make you very sorry."

With Jeremy still holding his hair, Castle couldn't hang his head, but he definitely felt like doing just that, defeated. If this were one of his stories, the Calvary would be coming for him to rescue him at the last moment. Three days tied up in a closet waiting to be found had firmly disabused him of that notion, though. He'd escaped that time – even though he didn't remember how – but he knew that this time there wasn't a way for him to get free. And while he wasn't completely sure he believed that Beckett was dead – he'd survived that car wreck, there wasn't any reason that Kate hadn't – he didn't have any hope that she'd be able to figure out where he was.

He took a deep breath – as deep as he could around all the pain – and shook his head as well as he could.

"I don't know where it is."

There was no warning, just another jolt of pain, and Castle jerked as his muscles once more seized.

"I can do this all day," Rogers told him, cruelly digging the metal into his side. Castle couldn't breathe and couldn't escape the jolting agony. He was going to die and he knew it.

"_NYPD! Back away!"_


	41. Chapter 41

At the sound of the voice, which cracked like a whip, Rogers was startled enough that he actually did pull the stun gun from Castle's side, although he didn't step away as he'd been ordered. Neither did Jeremy. Both men turned, and among the various stacks and pallets of boxes and crates, they saw movement and in the sudden silence in the large room heard the unmistakable sound of guns being readied and ammunition being racked into various chambers of weapons. In the middle of it all, Kate Beckett exposed herself enough to allow the men to see her and the large handgun she had in her right hand.

"Step away," Beckett ordered, her voice filled with the authority of someone who has an army at her beck and call, and suppressed with fury at the treatment of the man hanging from the rope in the middle of the room.

They'd arrived silently only a few minutes before and had been surprised by the lack of any kind of security. Obviously Rogers and Jeremy had decided that they weren't going to bring anyone else in on the job – at least not yet – and they had probably figured that it would only take minutes to get the information from Castle so they'd be done and gone long before anyone found where they'd taken him. Of course, Castle hadn't known and Beckett had been forced to watch them torture him while she anxiously waited to hear that all the police officers were in position around the warehouse. She couldn't move on them until she was sure that they wouldn't escape, and because they weren't using deadly force on him, she couldn't just shoot them like she wanted to.

The man with the stun gun had part of his body concealed behind Castle's now silent form, and Beckett watched him carefully as she stepped out from behind the crate she'd been watching from.

"Show me your hands – both of you."

"Can't do that," Jeremy told her. "If I do, then I won't be able to kill your boyfriend before you shoot me."

"You can't kill him before I shoot you," Beckett assured him. She had a good view of him, and all she could see was the stick he'd been holding. Beckett knew she'd be able to shoot him before he could hit Castle with it again. She might even be able to justify it.

The sound of another gun cocking suddenly filled the air, this one coming from somewhere between Castle and Rogers. The man smiled when he saw Beckett's expression at the noise.

"You can't kill me before _I_ kill him, though," Rogers told her. "Although you're welcomed to try – and feel free to start with Mr. Henderson here."

Henderson. That would be Jeremy's last name, then. Beckett lowered her weapon just a tad, showing Rogers that she understood the danger and was ready to see what he wanted.

"It doesn't have to end badly," Beckett told him, as both of them ignored the sudden burst of annoyance from Jeremy, who was clearly not pleased at the comment his partner had made. "You haven't done anything that can't be-"

The sound of a gunshot roared through the room, deafening all of them and startling everyone. Jeremy dropped, and for an instant Beckett thought that Rogers had shot him before they could even begin any kind of negotiations. The man looked just as surprised as the rest, though, and Beckett took advantage of that to bring her gun back up and fire. The gun in Rogers' hand clattered as it landed several feet away, and his body landed with a thump on the warehouse floor.

There was a commotion to the right and Beckett turned just in time to see a few of the police officers disarm and then throw Adam Madison to the floor and cuffed him. Ryan stepped up and kicked the gun even further from Roger's fallen body while Esposito went over to Castle and wrapped his arms around the writer's torso to take some of his weight off the rope and his abused arms. Beckett joined him as soon as she realized what he was doing.

"Hold on detectives," one of the other officers said. This man was taller than Castle, and he waited until he was sure that Esposito had Castle – who still hadn't uttered a sound – and then he reached up and cut the rope.

Castle slumped, but Esposito was strong enough to catch him and keep him from going down. Mainly since there were two puddles of blood under them, one from Jeremy and the other from the equally unlamented Rogers. Castle roused and moaned softly when his arms came down, and Beckett slipped her shoulder under his armpit to help Esposito support him.

"Easy…"

"I do _not_ like Jeremy…" Castle gasped, his voice pure agony. His head drooped but Beckett and Esposito were both careful to make sure neither of them touched his badly swollen face.

"Yeah, well you don't need to worry about him, now, Bro," Esposito assured him.

"Or the other guy," Ryan added, coming over to take the other side. "Ambulance is on the way, Castle. We'll have you doped up with painkillers in no time."

Castle leaned a little sideways – mainly because Beckett wasn't as steady as Ryan and Esposito were and she was sagging under his weight. He realized who it was and tried to raise his head to meet her worried gaze.

"He told me you were dead…"

She shook her head, and tried to force a smile. It didn't come.

"I'm here. Hospital this time, though. No arguments."

"No." Castle wasn't going to argue. He couldn't get around the pain wracking his body and he didn't have the energy to protest. There was an oppressive blackness bearing down on him, and he didn't have anything in him to fight it back. He vaguely heard a siren in the distance and wondered if it was coming their direction.

"You're going to go with him," Esposito pointed out. Her forehead was bruising and she looked a little too pale for Esposito's comfort. He took her spot at Castle's arm and he and Ryan mostly carried the writer over to a clear spot and had him lie down, even as a swarm of paramedics arrived to take over the writer's care.

Beckett nodded at Esposito. She knew she needed to get looked at, too, now that they had Castle safely back. Not whole and hale, but alive and breathing, at least. She sighed, and walked over to the two bodies on the floor. Ryan and Esposito followed, even though they both kept looking over their shoulders as though to make sure that Castle wasn't going to need them.

"You realize we probably will never know what happened to that diamond?" Ryan asked, watching as both bodies were covered.

"They didn't know where it was anyway," Beckett told him. A paramedic came over and handed her an icepack and took a quick look at the cut on her forehead.

"We're taking Mr. Castle as soon as we get him stabilized," the man told her. "You should get your head looked at, Detective."

"How's he doing?"

"We'll know more when we get him to the hospital. He passed out – but I didn't see anything life-threatening."

She nodded, and looked at Ryan and Esposito.

"You guys mind taking care of things here?"

"No. We'll meet you at the hospital later," Ryan told her.

"Do we call his mom and Alexis?" Esposito asked.

"Not yet," Beckett told him. "We'll wait until he can call them – that will keep them from panicking."

Which made sense. If he was smart, Esposito decided, he'd just tell them he and Beckett were in a car wreck. It would be the truth and far less scary than the reality.

"We'll process Madison, too," Ryan said.

The paramedics were putting Castle on a backboard, now, and getting him on a gurney to load him into the ambulance. Beckett turned to go, too.

"Call Montgomery, too," she said. "And have him call Doctor Cutter."

"We'll take care of it, Beckett," Esposito promised. "Tell Castle we'll see him soon."


	42. Chapter 42

"_I can't believe I'm really talking to you…"_

_Castle couldn't concentrate on the woman who was kneeling next to where he was tied. All he knew was that his arms were hurting from the odd angle they were being held in and his head was pounding and had been for what seemed to be forever._

"_The real Richard Castle." She reached out and touched his cheek, as if to prove to herself that he was really real, and Castle jerked his head back as far as he could at the touch. She frowned. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"_

"_Why are you doing this?"_

"We have to keep you out of the way," she explained. "Jeremy is afraid you'll ruin everything."

"_Ruin what? Where's James?"_

"_I can't tell you. Let's change the subject, though. I met you once before, you know? At a book signing. It was amazing. With all the people there, you still took time to talk to me one on one until the lady beside you had to hit you with her elbow. Do you remember?"_

_Castle hung his head, frustrated._

"_No."_

_It didn't seem to bother her. It certainly didn't dampen her enthusiasm – which was completely out of place as far as Castle was concerned._

"_I didn't think you would, but I'm your biggest fan. I've read all your books – a million times."_

"_Fans don't keep people tied up in closets."_

"_It's Jeremy. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully we'll get you on your way later and none the wiser."_

_Somehow he doubted it was going to be that easy. _

It was a gentle touch that eventually pulled Castle from the dreams. Not nightmares – something inside him knew that he was safe – but dreams, nonetheless. As he slowly woke, he waited for the pain that he knew was going to accompany waking – it was never ending, after all – but it never came, and that coupled with the touch was enough to make him open his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Kate Beckett. She was in a chair by the bed he was in, and it was her hand that he'd felt touch his. She smiled when he opened his eyes, and he thought that there was never a better sight to wake to. He waited for the pain – there had to be pain – but he felt numb and fuzzy and there still wasn't any pain. She was watching him, maybe waiting for him to say something?

"Kate?"

Her hand tightened on his, and Beckett's smile softened at the groggy confused look in his expression.

"Hi."

"Where are we?"

"Hospital."

Her face was bruised, and there was a bandage above her eye, but she looked okay. He frowned, though.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. How do you feel?"

"You found me?"

Where had she heard that before? This time, though, Beckett could give him a relieved smile. She'd known he was missing and had been able to find him.

"Yes."

"Why don't I hurt?"

Beckett's smile grew. She was so relieved that he was okay – and despite that she had to kill someone, she was also relieved that he was safe, now. She didn't know what might still be stuck in his head, but she knew that those who had been willing to kill to get it from him were dead.

"Because they doped you with painkillers so that you'd be able to sleep."

The answer didn't come from Beckett. Kate looked over and saw that Lanie had stuck her head through the doorway just in time to hear the question. When she saw that Castle was awake and somewhat aware, she'd decided to speak up – and then she walked into the room, anxious to have a chance to check on him. And Beckett.

"I'm not _sleeping_," Castle pointed out, trying to focus on her through the swelling around his nose and eyes.

"You will," she promised, walking up to the edge of his bed and leaning over to look at his face and check his pupils. She was more used to dealing with dead people, but Lanie was a doctor, and she knew what she was supposed to be looking for. What she saw just then was someone who was far more doped than he realized. "They're going to keep you overnight to get the swelling down before letting you go."

Beckett had already heard that from the ER doctors. Which was why Castle was in a room instead of the ER.

"It'll also give you a chance to get some rest," she told him.

"And you, too, Kate," Lanie told her.

Beckett frowned.

"What?"

"They want to keep you overnight."

"That's ridiculous. I don't need to-"

"Your Captain told them otherwise. From what Javier told me, it's already settled. You hit your head pretty hard."

"I'm fine," she protested.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

Yet another voice from the doorway, and this time it was Gerald Cutter who walked through the door. Castle's doctor smiled at both women as he walked over to the bed, and then leaned over the writer. He put a hand carefully on Castle's head to tip his head back a little and studied his eyes first and then probed carefully around the swollen area.

"I haven't seen someone this stoned since college…" he murmured, finally, grinning. "Are you feeling _any_ pain at all?"

"No."

"I bet." Cutter pulled Castle's blanket back, revealing his bare chest and stomach. "Ouch. What did they hit you with, Rick?"

Beckett and Lanie both looked, too. Castle's chest and stomach were criss-crossed with bruises – mostly new ones from the 'interrogation' with Rogers and Jeremy. There were also two welts from where he'd been hit with the stick. Beckett winced, but Castle only watched with detached interest.

"I don't know…"

"What's your daughter's name?"

"Alexis."

That answer was immediate.

"And what's the mayor's name?"

Castle stared up at him, blankly, and Cutter smiled.

"Yeah. At _least_ overnight, maybe another day or so."

"He'll be okay, though, right?" Kate asked. She'd already talked to the ER doctors, but Cutter knew Castle best. He'd know better than the others.

"Yeah. He'll ache a bit, and definitely will need some down time. And he's _not_ golfing with us this weekend." The doctor pulled the blanket up again, and then turned to Beckett and caught her chin in his hand, holding her still while he turned his intense gaze on her forehead and then her eyes, checking her injuries as well. "You will probably be down for a few days, also," he told her.

"And overnight for observation," he confirmed. "No arguments, Detective." He flashed that incredible smile. "Just pretend you're in a spa for the day."

Beckett rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue. Since she knew that Cutter was buddies with Montgomery, there was no sense in it.

"Yay."

Lanie had watched in silent amusement, and just when her friend was most unsettled, she asked the question that was really on her mind.

"I'm just wondering when they decided that the best way to get information out of Castle here was to suck on his neck…"

All three of them turned to look at Castle's neck – particularly the spot high on his neck that was marred with a bruise that looked suspiciously like a hickey.

Beckett groaned silently and tried very hard to make herself invisible.


	43. Chapter 43

"It's a bruise," Castle told them.

Lanie raised an amused eyebrow at that.

"A _hickey_ shaped bruise?"

"It's undercover."

Beckett rolled her eyes. Bad enough he was trying to cover for her, but doing it completely doped up, he was only making it worse.

"It was an accident," she said, quickly.

Now Cutter couldn't help himself, and had to speak up.

"You were vacuuming the floor and slipped?"

Lanie snickered.

"She was asleep," Castle said, still gamely trying and not quite realizing he wasn't helping. "She _also_ had her hand on-"

"We should let him get some sleep," Beckett interrupted, squeezing Castle's hand a little harder than necessary, perhaps.

He frowned, which made him look fairly wretched when coupled with the swelling and bruising on his face.

"I'm okay."

"No, Rick, she's right," Cutter said, still amused. "You _do_ need to get some sleep."

"But I don't want to sleep. I'm _awake_."

"If we let you rest, you'll go back to sleep," the doctor assured him. "You really should. You look awful _and_ you'll feel better."

"I feel fine." His hand tightened on Beckett's and she realized that he wasn't so much objecting the idea of sleep, he just didn't want to be alone. Specifically, she was pretty sure he didn't want her to leave.

"Let me get situated," she told him with a smile and a slight squeeze of his hand. "And then I'll come back and sit with you a while." She looked up at Cutter. "If you think that will be all right?"

"I doubt the hospital staff will mind," Cutter agreed, realizing the same thing Beckett had. Of course, she spent more time with him, so it wasn't surprising that she'd catch on first. He turned his head and winked at Lanie before turning back to the others. "Maybe we can turn a single room into a double? If Detective Beckett promises to let you get some sleep and keep any _vacuum cleaners_ away from your neck…"

Beckett blushed despite herself and Lanie didn't even attempt to bottle up her amused snicker. Castle didn't get the joke, but that wasn't too surprising, really. Not as medicated as he was. He did brighten a little, though.

"Can we?"

"It doesn't take much to bring in another bed – at least since neither of you require any serious monitoring equipment."

Rooms were almost always designed as two-bed rooms, and Cutter knew that they'd put Castle in his own room because he was famous. And rich. Famous and rich people didn't usually like to have roommates because that gave the roommate's relatives access to them. Castle wouldn't have that problem with Beckett.

Cutter looked at Beckett to see if she was okay with that and she shrugged. She was okay with that. She let go of Castle's hand.

"I'll be back in a little while, okay?"

He nodded and was closing his eyes even before the three of them left his room.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Esposito and Ryan were waiting with Montgomery outside the door, and all three headed for them when they closed the door behind them.

"How's he doing?" Montgomery asked.

"He's pretty beat up," Cutter answered. "They've got him on some pretty potent painkillers, though. The swelling on his face should go down in a day or two, and after that he'll look worse."

"Is he going to be able to golf with us?"

"Not a chance."

"Damn."

"Did you guys take care of this?" Cutter asked, curiously – and with just a little annoyance. "Or am I going to see him get more and more mangled?"

"It's taken care of," Montgomery told him, being more familiar with Cutter and knowing that none of his detectives would give that kind of information anyway. "How about Beckett?"

"The doctors want her to stay overnight, and I'm inclined to agree with them. She hit her head pretty hard. Might not hurt to give her a few days off to make sure that there aren't any migraines as a result."

"I'm right _here_, you know?" Beckett told him, slightly annoyed.

Cutter flashed her his amazing smile.

"Sorry, Detective. But none of it changes depending on your location. I know they gave you a shot and then a painkiller when they put the stitches in, so you're in a similar situation as Rick; you feel better than you will tomorrow. Better that you're _here_, where someone will be able to make sure there aren't any nasty side affects to your wreck."

"Consider it an order," Montgomery added.

She scowled at the amused looks from both Esposito and Ryan and then turned her attention to Montgomery and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He smiled. "If you need anything – anything at all, even your pillow fluffed – feel free to call Ryan or Esposito."

The two lost their amused grins immediately, which had almost certainly been the Captain's intent, and Beckett's lips twitched in an effort to not smile.

"I will, sir."

"I need to go talk to the nurses," Cutter told them. He touched Kate's shoulder. "I'll come by to see you sometime in the morning when I see Rick – just to check on you."

"Thank you, Doctor Cutter."

"_Gerald_," he corrected.

She nodded.

"I'll walk with you," Montgomery said. He looked at Beckett. "You okay?"

Meaning was she annoyed, but also he was asking her if there was anything he could do for her, and Beckett smiled, touched.

"I'm fine, Captain."

"Good. And good work, Beckett."

"Thank you."

The two left Beckett standing in the hall with Lanie and the guys, and Esposito cleared his throat.

"We have the clothes Castle wanted earlier," he said, when Beckett looked over. "Do you want us to go to your place and get you something?"

Lanie shook her head.

"The last thing Kate needs are you two rummaging through her place trying to figure out what bra to get her."

Both men flushed immediately – and Lanie and Beckett exchanged an amused look.

"Lanie already offered to get me some things," Kate told them. "But thank you."

"Something to eat?"

She shook her head.

"I think we'll be okay. Go home and get some rest guys."

God knew they probably needed it as much as she did.


	44. Chapter 44

Beckett woke slowly, feeling a little fuzzy and muddled, and with a headache that didn't let up even when she closed her eyes again and tried to will it away. A sound from the other side of the room made her open her eyes again and this time she looked over, concerned about Castle. And found that Lanie was sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning over and doing something that Beckett couldn't see.

"Lanie?"

Parrish turned and smiled when she saw Beckett was awake.

"Hey. Good morning."

"What are you doing?"

"Covering up your handiwork," Lanie told her, holding up a small make up kit. "I figured I'd take care of it before the guys saw it."

Beckett frowned, trying to figure out what she meant through the throbbing in her skull. Then she realized what she was talking about and closed her eyes again.

"It wasn't what you think."

She heard her friend chuckle, and opened her eyes in time to see her get up and walk over to the bed Beckett was in.

"You don't have to explain it to me, Kate," Lanie told her, sitting on the edge of Beckett's bed, now, and closing the makeup kit. "You know I've always thought you and Castle make a good connection. Did he give _you_ a hickey, too?"

"We woke up," Beckett said, flushing just a little at the reminder of their position when they'd woken. The increased blood to her face made her head hurt even more, and she winced. "It didn't go any further."

"Too bad." Lanie hadn't missed the pained expression on her friend, and knew it didn't have anything to do with their conversation. "Are you okay?"

"My head's killing me."

"I bet. You've got a nasty bruise. Want me to get a nurse? You can probably have some painkillers."

Beckett shook her head.

"Not right now. I don't want them to medicate me so much that I won't get to go home later." She looked over at the other bed in the room. "How's he doing?"

"The swelling is down, but he looks like someone's been painting his face with all the colors of the rainbow – mainly black and blue and purple. Did he sleep at all last night?"

Beckett nodded.

"All night, I think. They kept coming in with icepacks all night, but he never woke."

Once he'd started to, obviously hurting because he'd groaned and started thrashing – maybe having a nightmare – but the hospital staff had been right on the ball and had immediately dosed him again to put him under so he'd sleep. It had worked, and he'd settled, allowing Beckett to go back to sleep, too, reassured that he was okay.

"The icepacks did their job," Lanie told her. "Aside from the bruises he looks much better than he did yesterday."

Beckett couldn't see him well enough to judge, but she was willing to take Lanie's word for it. She checked the clock on the wall and saw that it wasn't as early as she'd thought. She'd slept much longer than she usually would – no doubt with the help of the pain medications that the doctors had prescribed for her headache.

"Good."

"When is his mom coming home?"

"A few days, still, I think," Beckett said.

"Someone's going to have to watch him, then, if they release him."

"One of the nurses told me that they were planning on releasing him today – after they get an x-ray of his face to make sure there are no broken bones. They had to wait for the swelling to go down, first."

"I can take him home with me if you're tired of his company."

Beckett was surprised at the little glimmer of jealousy she felt with that offer. Lanie wasn't even interested in Castle beyond as a friend, but Kate found that if she was honest with herself – and just then she _was_, since she was still a little out of it from her own pain medications – she didn't want to share him even with Lanie at the moment. What if he had a nightmare? Lanie wouldn't be able to comfort him the same way she could. Trying to figure out how to decline the offer without letting any of those inner musing show she hesitated, and Parrish smiled, knowingly.

"Never mind. We can send him home with you."

Kate flushed again, aware that she'd exposed thoughts to her friend.

"I just… I don't know…" she gave up, and closed her eyes again. Blushing hurt just then and her head was pounding. She pressed her hand against the bandaged area trying to rub out the pain and only making it worse.

"I'm going to get you someone to take care of that headache," Lanie said, realizing that it probably wasn't the best time to tease her friend. "They can give you something that will keep the pain down and still let you function enough to go home. Not to mention, you should probably eat something."

Beckett nodded. If she could get her head to stop pounding, she'd almost certainly eat something.

"Thanks."

Lanie left and Beckett took advantage of the lull to go to the bathroom and change from the clothes she'd been sleeping in to clothes she could wear home. By wearing them before the nurses and doctor came in, she'd be sending a message that she had no intention of staying another day. She was back in bed by the time the first doctor arrived – not Cutter, who wasn't a residential doctor for the hospital – but one of the first to have checked her and Castle when they'd arrived there.

"Detective," the doctor greeted her, picking up her chart on the way into the room and then coming over to her bed. Since she was sitting up, he had no trouble pulling the mobile lamp over to get a better look at her pupils when he started checking her thoroughly for any side affects of the accident she'd been in and the head injury. He asked her several questions, which she answered as honestly as possible, and ran her through a series of tests, checking everything. Then he made a couple of notations on her chart and stood up. "You look good, Detective," he told her. "I think we can release you today – once you've had a chance to eat and we get the pain under control a little."

"I don't want to be heavily drugged," Beckett told him.

"Understandable. There are alternatives to the really potent medications. I'll advised against you doing anything that might require holding a weapon, but you should be able to function somewhat."

"Thank you."

"She's going to be all right?"

They both looked over and saw that Castle had opened his eyes and probably had been able to follow along as the doctor had run Beckett through her tests. The doctor looked at Beckett, obviously asking if she wanted him to answer that. Patient confidentiality and all that, after all. Kate nodded.

"She's going to be fine, Mr. Castle."

"Good." He looked hung over and still somewhat stoned, and once the doctor put the light on him, Beckett could see that he looked more bruised than he had the night before – although Lanie had been right and the swelling on his face was definitely down. He didn't look as puffy. "Do I get to go home?"

"Not yet," the doctor told him. "I'm going to feed you and see about getting some x-rays. Once we know if there are any broken bones in your face, then I'll know if we need to keep you here or if we can let you go – with supervision."

Castle looked at Beckett.

"Do you get to go?"

Kate nodded.

"Yes. And if they feel safe releasing you, I'm going to bring you home with me until your mom and Alexis get home."

He brightened at that.

"Really? You won't mind?"

"No. I can use the company."

"You need groceries, too," Castle told her, still looking stoned.

Lanie grinned.

"We'll make sure there's food before you get there."


	45. Chapter 45

It was Lanie who ended up taking Castle to Beckett's place. Kate waited around once she'd been cleared to be released to see how Castle's x-rays turned out and to watch as the doctors gave him a final check up to make sure it was safe to release him. The x-rays showed no broken bones in Castle's face – and no cracked ribs, which had also been somewhat a concern – and a battery of tests showed that his shoulders hadn't been injured further by the rope ordeal – although they hurt even through all the medications he was dosed with. Cutter had given the final okay for Castle to be released – as long as he had someone to stay with him (or take him home as Kate intended) and had made sure that Beckett knew to call him or the pharmacy if there were any questions about the medication he was being prescribed – or if she had any about the ones that she was given.

So Beckett had left to go get some groceries (since Castle's comment had been fairly accurate) and Lanie had been the one to wait for Castle to be released and had taken him to Kate's. He hadn't been much company, mainly he stared out the window still looking a bit dazed – not that she expected much more than that. She was just glad he was mobile enough that he'd be able to walk himself to the apartment. One of the nurses had dressed him in the jeans and button up shirt that Esposito had brought for him, with slip on shoes that would keep him from needing to bend over any more than necessary.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him as they walked in Beckett's place. Kate hadn't finished her shopping, but she'd told Lanie she wouldn't be long. Parrish had honestly replied that she didn't mind watching him, and she could take as long as she wanted.

"Sleepy," Castle answered, kicking his shoes off clumsily at the door.

"Bed or couch?"

"Bed."

He turned and unerringly headed for the bedroom, and Lanie wondered if she should offer to help him get settled. She decided to get his things put away, first – shaving kit went into the bathroom and the clothes they had for him (which were mainly just things to sleep in since there was no way he was going to be up for anything too strenuous) went on the coffee table for now – and then she'd see if he needed help. When she walked into the bedroom, however, he was already in bed and seemed to be asleep. A trail of discarded clothing, however, brought up something that she hadn't anticipated when she'd planned to help him; judging by the clothing he'd dropped on his way from the door to the bed, he wasn't wearing anything under that blanket he'd crawled under.

"That's Beckett's problem," she mumbled to herself immediately. Of course, it wasn't, though. Castle was sleeping on his side, and his doctors had been pretty adamant that he sleep on his back to avoid injuring those shoulders with any weight on them, and that he sleep slightly inclined. She grumbled and walked over to the bed, checking Beckett's pillow supply as she did so. She piled all of them against the wall, and then very carefully nudged the writer, hoping he wasn't already deeply asleep. "Castle?"

"Hmm?"

"You need to roll over."

"I'm sleepy."

As Beckett had already discovered, he wasn't completely coherent when being waken – and that had been without the painkillers in his system.

"I know, but your doctors want you to sleep on your back."

"Are they here?" He didn't even open his eyes.

She sighed, debated whether to just hand the problem over to Kate when she returned and decided that with the headache Beckett was carrying around, she probably didn't need the added stress of manipulating a reluctant patient into the right position.

"Roll over for me."

"I'm tired, Lanie…"

He _sounded_ tired, too.

"Just do it."

Castle mumbled something she couldn't understand, and his body tensed as he tried to push himself over onto his back, and Lanie caught him by the bicep to help. It only took a moment of shuffling for them to get him into her pile of pillows, but he was sweating by the time they'd managed it. Painkillers could only do so much, she knew, and it had still hurt him. He didn't complain, though. Instead, he closed his eyes against the pain and tried to catch his breath. Parrish brushed his hair back from his forehead, but was careful to be gentle.

"Go back to sleep now," she told him, softly.

"Is Kate back, yet?"

"Not yet. Go to sleep."

"Okay." She started to move away, and he caught her hand, unerringly. "Lanie?"

She turned back and saw that he'd opened his eyes again. They were a little too bright for normal, but he wasn't having trouble focusing and that was a good start.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

She smiled, and squeezed his hand lightly, before setting it back on his stomach.

"You're welcome. Close your eyes… when you wake up, Kate will be here."

He did what she said, closing his eyes and after a remarkably short time his body relaxed, telling her that he'd fallen asleep. Lanie watched him just a moment, watching his chest rise and fall and making sure it was steady. Satisfied, she picked up the clothes that he'd left where they lay, put them on Beckett's dresser and then went back out to the living room, leaving the door open in case he woke and needed something.

OOOOOOOOO

Beckett arrived home to find Lanie sitting on her sofa watching TV. She was a little surprised – she'd expected Castle to be sleeping on her couch – but didn't say anything since she was loaded down with several grocery bags and was more concerned about dropping the gallon of milk that was hanging off of her pinky. Only when Lanie had come to her rescue and had helped her get the bags on the counter did she bring up her houseguest.

"How's he doing?"

"He's asleep in your bed. I hope that's okay."

Beckett shrugged.

"It'll probably be better for him in there."

There wouldn't be so many distractions that might keep him awake. She fully intended for him to get as much sleep as possible. It was the best way to heal, after all.

"Probably." Lanie hesitated, but decided that Beckett would find out he wasn't wearing anything, and while she'd love to be a little fly on the wall when that happened, she had other things to do that day. As long as she wasn't needed here. "Are you going to be okay with him? How's your head?"

"It aches a bit," Beckett admitted. "I'll probably put the groceries away and then get some more sleep myself."

"If you need anything just give me a call – or call Javier and he can call me."

"I will. Thanks."

Kate watched as Lanie left, and then finished putting away the groceries. She'd gotten far more than she normally did, and the sight of her fridge so full was definitely not normal. She grabbed up a bottle of water and looked at the wall clock. Castle would be on a regular regime of painkillers until he was aware enough that he could decide how often he needed to be dosed. He was still a while away from the next pill, so she figured she'd check on him, make sure he was comfortable and then sack out on the couch for a while. She walked over to the open door and peeked in. He was sleeping in the position that the doctors had told her they wanted him in, and she walked over to the bed.

Beckett frowned at all the bruising on his chest and lower arms. The signs of the torture he'd been put through was unsettling, and she sat down on the very edge of the bed and reached for his hand – ostensibly to examine the marks on his wrists made by the ropes, but really just to have an excuse to touch him.

"Kate?"

Chagrined that she'd roused him when he so desperately needed to sleep, she squeezed his hand very lightly. He hadn't opened his eyes and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Shhh… go back to sleep."

"You won't leave me?"

"No. I'm here."

"I'm tired."

"I know. Go to sleep."

She could tell he was fighting sleep, she just wasn't sure why. Even _he_ knew he was tired.

"It's dark…"

"I'm here."

Beckett leaned over and softly kissed his ear. His face was too bruised for her to go anywhere near just then. He felt it, though, she knew, because he relaxed a little.

"Stay…"

She hadn't planned to. The couch had cushions and a throw blanket that would serve fairly well for what she needed. But he needed her, and he was just miserable enough to ask for what he needed instead of trying to pretend. Beckett slipped her shoes off without letting go of Castle's hand, and then slid under the blankets with him.

And froze. She'd known he didn't have a shirt on, but she hadn't expected that he wasn't wearing pants – or at least boxers. She started to move away, and he reacted to the instinctive knowledge that she was leaving him by tightening his hold on her hand and rousing again.

"Kate?"

"Where are your-" she stopped, knowing that if she started that conversation he was going to wake up. Instead, she did her best to bring the sheet in between his body and hers, and then she cuddled up against his side, trying to find a part that wasn't too bruised to lean against. "I'm here…" she whispered. "Go to sleep."

Surprisingly, he did. Almost immediately. Even more surprising, considering the situation she'd found herself in, she did too.


	46. Chapter 46

When Beckett woke her head was just beginning to hurt, which had probably been the reason she woke in the first place. She opened her eyes, slowly, and realized almost immediately that while she'd been sleeping she'd cuddled up against Castle's side, her arm draped over his stomach – above the blankets – and her cheek against his ribs. She was warm, and comfortable and truthfully, if her head wasn't throbbing she might have just gone back to sleep. But it _was_ hurting, and a quick glance at her alarm clock told her that he was due a pain pill soon. If she was beginning to ache, he was really going to start hurting soon. Better to get that taken care of before it even started.

Carefully, moving slowly to avoid waking him, she slipped out of her bed and made sure he was warmly covered and still asleep before she went into the living room. Her stomach was growling, so she decided to make something to eat. Something _easy_ to eat, so Castle could manage it, too. She knew the medication she was going to give him said to take with food, and while the doctors had all told her that a protein shake would work if he was too tired to down anything else, she'd feel better knowing he'd had a real meal.

Looking through her newly acquired groceries, Beckett opted to make tuna sandwiches, deciding that they'd be easy enough and wouldn't over stuff him. While she was doing that, she set some eggs boiling, too, figuring egg salad or simply boiled eggs would probably make a good snack at some later date. She peeled an orange and segmented it, half for him, half for her, and pulled out the tray that she used on the rare times she decided to eat in bed. Her sandwich, his sandwich, the orange slices, a tea for her and a glass of milk for him and a handful of chips just in case. Then she took one of her painkillers and put one of his on the tray, too. Even if he wasn't hungry, she'd have him drink the milk to wash the pill down before letting him go back to sleep. Picking it all up, she carried the tray to her bedroom, where he was still sleeping.

OOOOOOOOO

"Castle?"

He knew that voice. Soft and sexy. The best kind of voice. He felt reassured, although he couldn't remember just then why that was so important. All he knew was that he was safe, and warm.

"Castle? Wake up a little, will you?"

She was close enough that he could feel her warm breath tickling his ear. It was enough to make him open his eyes and see what she was doing.

"Kate… hi…"

Beckett smiled at him, and he was reminded again that she was beautiful.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

He hesitated, taking stock of himself. He was tired, and felt odd, and just on the edge of his periphery he felt an ache that was almost certainly a precursor of greater pain to come. He didn't feel up to explaining any of that, though. Instead, he settled for the first thing that came to mind.

"Tired."

"Any pain?"

"A little… nothing too bad." Now that he was a little more awake, he thought she looked tired. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She ran her fingers along his forehead and then down his cheek. "I made lunch. Think you can eat something?"

"I'm _tired_…"

He knew it sounded petulant but he couldn't help himself. The thought of getting up and eating seemed to drain him of energy.

"Try a little, okay?" Since he'd do anything for her, he nodded and started to reach for his blankets to get up, but her hand on his arm stopped him. "I brought it to you," she told him.

"Oh." He sank back into the pillows behind him and closed his eyes against a sudden onslaught of pain behind his eyes, focusing somewhere near his nose. "Ow…"

Beckett took the pain pill and pressed it against his lips. She hadn't missed the way he'd suddenly winced and she knew exactly what was causing it.

"Take this, Rick…"

He didn't even open his eyes. He felt the pill and knew she wouldn't be giving him something unless she thought it would help. He swallowed the pill and then felt a straw against his lips and took a long drink of the milk she was offering him. Normally he'd feel ridiculous allowing her to hold the straw for him, but just then he was grateful she was willing.

The straw was pulled away and he thought she might let him sleep, but suddenly something else was against his lips.

"Now this…"

He opened his mouth and she fed him a piece of the sandwich she'd made him. When he chewed it and swallowed it, she decided to just feed it to him a piece at a time rather than try to get him to wake up enough to feed himself. If his shoulders were hurting him, it'd be easier to do it that way anyway. She tore the sandwich into easy to handle pieces and fed them to him slowly. Then, she managed to cajole him into eating a couple of the segments of orange before the pill she'd given him made him fall asleep in between bites.

Beckett leaned back a little and ate her own lunch – which was really more of an early dinner considering the time of day and how long they'd slept. Her headache was gone – either from eating or the pill or a combination of the two – and she debated going back to sleep, too. Then she remembered that she had eggs boiling and she took the tray back to the kitchen and pulled the eggs off the stove and put them into the fridge to cool. There wasn't much of a mess to clean but she cleaned it anyway rather than having to deal with it later. Once that was done, she went to the door, put the chain lock on and then sat down on the couch with a tired sigh and picked up her phone and made a quick call.

"Hey, it's me."

_"You sound tired. Get some sleep."_

"I just woke up."

_"How's Castle?"_

"Sleeping. But I managed to get some lunch into him."

_"Good. Do you need anything?"_

"No. I think we'll be good."

_"Did you look under his blanket yet?"_

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Did you have something to do with that?"

_"Not me, girl. He went to bed and that was how I found him. It must be his default setting."_

"Well, he's still in that setting. He's pretty out of it, so there isn't much sense in telling him to get dressed."

_"Not to mention it's probably far more interesting to –"_

"Stop."

Lanie snorted her amusement, and Beckett couldn't help but grin.

_"Good night, Kate. Call me if there's anything I can do for you guys."_

"I will. Good night."

They ended the call and Beckett went back to her bedroom and watched Castle sleep for a few minutes, debating whether she should join him or just sack out on the couch. Eventually, she decided that it'd be better all around if she was close by in case he woke up and needed something. And she had to admit that she'd enjoyed having someone next to her when she woke up.

She walked across the room and slid under the blankets again, trying to be quiet and not wake him. As she slid as close as she could without actually touching him – trying to mooch a little of the pillows – she felt him shift just a little in his sleep, and his hand reached for hers. Beckett smiled, touched, and closed her eyes, but felt his hand tighten just a little, probably reflex more than anything else. She rolled onto her side, and resumed the position she'd woken up in. It was comfortable, it was intimate but not so much so that it would keep either of them awake, and she could hear his heart beating if she stayed quiet.

And Lanie was right; it _was_ more interesting.


	47. Chapter 47

It was dark outside her bedroom window when Beckett next woke. The light in the living room fell through the open door and spilled onto the bed, illuminating Castle, who was seated on the edge of her bed, facing away from her and toward the door. She frowned, trying to shake the fogginess of sleep from her head as she looked at his bare back. Before she could ask him if everything was all right, he got up and left the room, flashing a lot of skin as he left. She didn't follow him, but she did listen to see what he was doing and to see if he needed anything. She wasn't sure just how lucid he was, and the last thing he should be doing was cooking or something like that.

He was back in only a few minutes, though, and he hadn't found anything to wear she saw. He hesitated at the doorway, silhouetted from behind by the light in the living room, and after a moment went back to the bed and stood by the side of it. And _continued_ standing by it, long enough that Beckett eventually spoke into the silence in the room, worried.

"Castle?"

"I don't have any clothes…"

Yeah, she could see that. He hadn't picked any up on the way back from the bathroom, but she wasn't really surprised by that.

"I know."

He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs. Beckett moved over to sit beside him, bringing the top blanket with her and draping it over him. The room wasn't cold, but she definitely didn't need him catching a chill. He looked over at her without raising his head.

"_You're_ not naked."

She smiled.

"No."

"Then we didn't…?" He trailed off, but looked over at her.

Beckett shook her head.

"No. You've been asleep all day. How are you feeling? Any pain?"

She could give him another pill if he needed.

"I'm tired."

"They said you would be. Are you hungry?"

"No. Just tired, I think."

"Then go back to sleep, Rick."

"You'll stay with me?"

"If you want."

"Naked?"

She smiled.

"No."

"Spoil sport."

Beckett touched his cheek.

"You'll live, I think."

"Yeah." He caught her hand in his. "Thanks to you."

"Not just me."

"You found me." He frowned, and she saw it. "Although I don't understand how…"

"_That_ was the easy part."

"Howso?" Before she could answer, though, he figured it out on his own. "You _bugged_ me…"

Kate nodded.

"Yes. It's not exactly SOP, but I decided that it might not be a bad idea to have a transmitter on you – just in case."

"You thought they'd come after me?"

"No." She got up and pulled the blankets back on the bed, and gestured for him to lie back down. He pushed the blanket she'd draped over him off and painfully moved back into position against the pillows. She covered him back up, and continued the conversation. "I was more concerned that you'd wander off when I had my back turned, and _then_ maybe someone would make a move on you. I didn't expect them to ambush us."

Castle patted the spot beside him, hoping she'd take him up on the offer – mainly so she would stay with him, although he didn't say that. When she joined him, he pulled the blanket back at the last moment, maneuvering her under the blankets with him, instead of above them. He realized that she'd been under the blankets with him when he'd woken up and there was no reason for her not to be with him again.

"They would have killed me, you know?" he said, once she was beside him and covered as well.

"700 million, Rick," she told him, turning on her side so she could look at him. "You said it yourself; people will do crazy things for money."

"Yeah…"

He was quiet, and she watched him, wondering if she should give him a painkiller so he'd be able to sleep rather than obsess over the fact that he'd been in so much danger. She tentatively rested her hand on his stomach – above the blankets – and surprised, he put his hand over hers, touched.

"You should get some sleep," she said, softly.

"I've _been_ sleeping."

"It's the best way to heal."

He couldn't deny that. He rolled over onto his side so he could look at her, and in the light that was coming in from the living room he saw the nasty bruise above her eye and the dark circles under them. _He_ might not have been tired, but _she_ definitely looked like she was – and his expression softened. She'd been taking care of him, and he was being incredibly selfish.

"_You_ sleep, Kate," he told her, his arm coming around her and pulling her closer and resting his chin on the top of her head. "I'll keep you company."

Beckett could have argued, but she was tired and she figured that if she was resting, he would, too.

"No funny stuff…" she told him, already closing her eyes.

His arm tightened on her and she could feel the rumble of amusement as he chuckled softly.

"I'll be a perfect gentleman," he assured her. His hand was stroking her back, lightly, trying to relax her enough to go back to sleep.

"You're supposed to be sleeping on your back," she murmured, not opening her eyes. She had to admit that it was nice to be held like he was holding her, and she was willing to be babied a little.

"I'm comfortable this way."

"Hmmm…"

He might have said more, but she dozed off, comfortable and secure in his arms.

Castle felt her relax and listened to her soft, even breathing; the sound almost hypnotic. He closed his eyes, too, and continued stroking her back, his mind considering what had happened and what might still happen. The quiet of the room and the warmth of the woman sleeping beside him was soothing, though.

Eventually, she put him back to sleep without even trying.


	48. Chapter 48

_Author's note: At the risk of popping out a spoiler, this chapter definitely has an adult theme, and as such shouldn't be read by younger people without a parent checking to see if it's too mature for them, first._

OOOOOOOOOO

"_Jeremy doesn't know it but I stole the Gift."_

"_What's the Gift?"_

"_I can't tell you. He'll kill you."_

"_Where's my diamond, Writer?"_

"_I don't have it…"_

"_I want that rock, Writer!"_

_The pain was excruciating, and he tried to jerk free, but the ropes that held him were firm._

"_He'll kill you…" the feminine voice said. "He'll kill both of us."_

"_Where's my diamond, Writer?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_I hid it. Jeremy will kill me if he finds out I took it."_

"_What is it?"_

"_A secret."_

"_Where is it?"_

"_I can't tell you." There was a nervous giggle. "It's like _'Amorous Giants'_."_

"_What?"_

"_Where's my diamond?"_

_The blow fell and he jerked again, pain making his mind numb and his breathing falter._

"_I don't know."_

"_Where is it, Castle?" _

"_I don't have it!"_

"_Where is it!"_

"Hey…"

"I don't know…"

"Castle?"

"I don't know…"

"Rick… wake up…"

"I don't-"

"Rick, hey… I'm here."

His eyes snapped open as he realized that the voice belonged to Kate Beckett. Still wrapped in the throes of the nightmare – and the pain that had accompanied it – he tried to wrestle away from the hand that was holding him, but it held him firm.

"No…"

"Castle, wake up."

"Kate?"

"I'm here."

"I don't know where it is."

"I know. It's okay."

As close as she was to him, she couldn't miss the way he trembled and she ran her hand along his arm, trying to steady him.

"They think I know where the Gift is," he told her, still caught up in the dream – although her hand was reassuring and her body was warm against him.

"You don't have to worry about them," Kate reminded him, pulling his head down to hug him. "They're gone."

He closed his eyes, his forehead resting against her shoulder, but he shuddered, again, and he felt her arms tighten around him.

"It was so real…"

"I know." Beckett kissed his cheek. "I'm here, though, and they're not."

He turned his head in her embrace, and she pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth, trying to reassure him. He opened his eyes, suddenly awake and very aware of her close proximity. Her lips were right there, and the temptation was far beyond what he could resist. He turned his head, just a little, and kissed her fully on the mouth.

Beckett was startled. Not by the kiss – _she'd_ just kissed _him_, after all, so she wasn't surprised by that – but by the wave of heat that surged through her at the contact. It was electric and irresistible and everything that a kiss should be. Her hand stilled on his arm, but she didn't pull away. Castle pressed closer, his lips opening and his tongue searching, and at the same time his hand sliding along her side until he reached the hem of her shirt and the waistband of the sweats she'd gone to bed wearing. He opted to go up, and as she deepened the kiss his hand slid up under her shirt, pulling fabric up as he went and baring skin that he was eager to feel. She helped him, pulling away only long enough to bring her arms up and bare herself from the waist up.

He murmured his appreciation as she pressed against him again and his mouth left her lips to nuzzle her neck, then her shoulder and then lower and Beckett gasped in pleasure at the contact. Castle was eager, now, and while his mouth was teasing her upper body, his hand was already sliding under her waistband, taking hold of the only fabric still covering her. He pulled and again Beckett helped him, well aware that he wasn't going to be able to undress her by himself. She used her legs to kick the clothes off without losing the contact they had, and as soon as she was as naked as he was, his hand slid along her though and then used the grip to pull her leg up and over his thigh, bringing the two of them even closer.

Her hand went down between them, found what she was looking for and started to stroke him, much as she had only a few days before. He groaned and caught her lips in another heated kiss before he shifted, pushing her hand away from him and testing her with his fingers before pressing against her.

"Kate?" he whispered, his lips touching hers tenderly. "Please…"

She realized he was asking her for permission, even in the height of excitement. She might have hesitated, but there was no reason to. She wanted him. He wanted her. His medication was worn off enough that he wasn't acting in a drug-induced haze and hers had never been potent enough to keep her from thinking clearly. Beckett arched against him, just as eager as he was, and felt him respond to that silent reply with a thrust that made them both gasp.

Castle held still for just a moment, lingering in her internal grasp and enjoying the most intimate of embraces with her. Her lips caught his and she moved against him, impatiently. He groaned as she forced his pleasure, and started thrusting, slowly at first so she could catch the rhythm and then more as their mutual excitement built. His hand went down between them, caressing her and Beckett gasped again as an explosion of pleasure surged through her unexpectedly, sending her over the edge. He joined her only moments later, too eager to hold back even if he could have – which, when it came to her, he couldn't. He grunted as he climaxed, and clung to her, shuddering again, but this time for a completely different reason than the nightmare that had originally woken him.

Beckett held him closely, her body coming down off the high and feeling completely drained. She slumped against him and he shifted to get her back into a more comfortable position beside him, his arms still around her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," she whispered, her forehead against his chest and her eyes closing of their own volition. "It was…"

Castle waited, but she didn't finish the sentence. He nudged her, gently.

"Kate?"

The only answer was silence, and he wasn't sure whether to be amused or annoyed. She'd fallen asleep! Of course, he'd woken her out of a sound sleep, so he supposed it was only understandable. But still…

He reached down and pulled the blankets up over them, making sure she was warmly covered and then shifted again, trying to keep from waking her but at the same time finding that he was beginning to ache a little, now that he wasn't focusing on her or the nightmare he'd had. Castle sighed, relaxing despite the gentle throbbing in his face and arms. She was warm beside him and her bare skin was touching his, a reminder of their intimacy. He slid his hand along her side until he was cupping her breast and then drifted off to sleep, too.

This time, there were no nightmares.


	49. Chapter 49

_Author's note: This one is a little short. Sorry! But I hope you read it anyway._

OOOOOOOOO

Something wasn't quite right. Beckett was a cop, and because of that she tended to be at least somewhat aware of her surroundings even when she wasn't at one hundred percent – or even asleep. She was aware of the man she was sleeping beside. Aware of the warmth of his body and the arms that were wrapped around her, his body against hers, skin against skin. Something was a little off, though, and that was enough to wake her up. Immediately, she knew he wasn't asleep. No body was as tense as his was and still completely at rest, and she was close enough to him to feel the tension in his muscles. Something was definitely not okay.

"Castle?"

_"Ow…"_

His voice was a whisper, followed by a soft moan that made her sit up immediately and reach over him to turn on the light. His face was pinched in pain, pale and even sheened with sweat. And so distracted by that pain that he didn't even comment on the bare skin that was pressed against him when she'd leaned over him.

"What's wrong?"

She could tell he was in pain, she just wanted to make sure it wasn't something new. Her instinct and common sense told her that his pain medication had almost certainly worn off. _Her_ head was pounding, after all, and she wasn't as battered as he was.

"I hurt," was the succinct reply. He looked up at her, forlorn, hoping she'd take care of it.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked, reaching for her robe and getting out of her bed.

"You were _sleeping_."

He was still on his side, and his arms had been holding her in what was a normally comfortable position but not just then, and now he was paying the price – especially the shoulder he'd been sleeping on.

"You should have woke me."

"You looked comfortable."

And he'd wanted to hold her. And he'd been more than a little certain that once she was awake and aware she was going to start thinking about what they'd done and probably either be embarrassed or uncertain, making this the only time he'd have a chance to hold her like he had been. It was no contest; he'd hold her and hurt for as long as he could.

Beckett helped him get rolled onto his back and back into the somewhat inclined position he'd started in. He was panting by the time they were done, and Beckett made sure he was covered to avoid a chill. Then she left him in bed and went into the kitchen to get him something for the pain. She opened up a protein shake, figuring it would be faster than making something to eat and poured it into a glass. She stopped long enough to get herself a couple of aspirin, and then she went back to her bedroom and pressed his pill against his lips, figuring he'd rather have it fed to him than try to move those sore arms just then.

"Here."

He accepted it gratefully, and then downed half the shake before she decided it was probably enough to count as 'take with food'. Then Castle closed his eyes, and willed the medication to make his head, face and arms stop hurting.

"Thank you," he told her, reaching blindly for her hand, hoping she wouldn't leave him alone with his misery.

"You're welcome." Beckett sat down beside him, holding his hand but otherwise not touching him. "Next time wake me up."

"I will." She doubted that. Castle opened his eyes, looking up at her and noticing that she looked a little like he felt. "How are _you_ feeling?"

"Like someone is pounding on the inside of my head trying to get out," she admitted. "I took a couple aspirin, it should stop soon."

"Lay down for a while," he suggested. "It'll help."

Beckett smiled.

"With you?"

"It's more fun that way," he pointed out.

"_And_ the reason you're in so much pain."

"No. Getting beat up while hanging from a rope is why I am in so much pain."

She shook her head and to Castle's delight pulled off her robe and slipped under the blankets with him without hesitation. She didn't, however, do more than simply sidle up beside him and share a little of the mountain of pillows. The last thing she wanted was to get him wound up – which she knew would be easy enough if she made contact with him. If he didn't initiate something physical, chances were that she would.

He had other ideas, though, and even without moving from the position he was in, he ran his hand along her side, enjoying her being so close – and so naked. Beckett caught his hand.

"Go to sleep, Rick," she told him, holding his hand against her ribs. "You'll feel better."

He already was. The medication was as powerful as they could prescribe him and with so little in his stomach, it was already starting to work on his aches and pains. Not enough that he was really considering anything too physical. He just wanted to hold and be held. And so did she.

But he had to know where they stood. He wouldn't be able to relax fully until he did. The medication was already making him groggy and he tried to think how to ask what he wanted to know. He finally moved his thumb, brushing it against the curve of her breast where his hand was caught by hers.

"Again?"

"No."

He felt disappointed and hurt by the automatic rejection, but before he could do more than feel those emotions and realize them for what they were, the part of his mind that was still somewhat lucid suggested that maybe she wasn't actually rejecting the entire idea of them being together.

"Later?" he asked, turning his head and looking at her.

"Yes." She shifted enough that she could kiss the corner of his mouth, and his hand tightened on hers for just a moment.

Beckett smiled at the way his now tired (which was better than pained) expression lit up at the promise of things to come, and she lay her head back down on the pillow beside his, and he relaxed against her like she'd hoped he would. Relaxed like that, there was no way he was going to be able to fight the medication, and sure enough he was asleep in only minutes. She gave him a few more minutes, just to be sure, and then slid out from beside him. While he was sleeping she had a few things she needed to take care of, and now that her head wasn't pounding, and she was awake – and it was so close to her normal time to get up – she could get the done.

And then maybe have a chance to join him back in bed for a while later.


	50. Chapter 50

_Author's note: yes, we're not done with the 'gift' yet, but I don't want to rush the story faster than I originally intended to just to get to the end. Sorry if this part seems a bit boring to some of you, but I like writing them together so I probably will linger a little – especially since the show is so determined to frustrate me. And don't forget; Castle remembers all the good stuff in his dreams_.

OOOOOOOOOOO

While Castle slept, Beckett took a long shower and then made some breakfast. She debated making him something and waking him to get him to eat, but decided that he was better off sleeping just then. She had cereal and fruit – nothing fancy, but she figured she'd wait and eat with him later. By this time her headache was as gone as it was going to get, so she figured she should get some work done while she was feeling up to it. There was a lot of paperwork to take care of – she'd shot a man, after all – and she'd been smart enough to bring home some of the forms and reports that she needed to do. She pulled them out of the briefcase they were in and looked at the kitchen table and then the door of her bedroom. And then back at the table. And then the door again. Eventually she carried the briefcase and her cell phone to the bedroom and settled in quietly beside Castle, who was snoring lightly but breathing evenly and not exhibiting any sign of pain or discomfort.

Beckett pulled out a clipboard, her laptop and some of the police folders that she'd brought and started checking facts on one form against the information she had on file, and very quickly became immersed in her work. Immersed enough that when her phone buzzed from the place it was wedged under her leg more than an hour and a half later, she actually started in surprise. Looking at her watch, she saw it was almost 10am and she frowned when she saw the ID on her phone. It was Alexis. She looked over at Castle at the same time she answered and saw that he was starting to rouse – probably woken up when she had bumped him when she'd jumped when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"_Detective Beckett?"_

"Hi, Alexis. Everything okay?"

Castle heard the name Alexis and woke almost completely, like a drunk driver sobering the moment the police lights came up behind him. He turned his head, looking around to see where Alexis was and only seeing Beckett. She put her hand on his cheek, but her attention was on the conversation.

_"Yes. I was trying to get hold of my dad, though, and he hasn't been answering his phone. I was wondering if you have seen him…"_

"Can I put you on hold a moment?" she asked.

_"Yes."_

Beckett made sure that the phone was on hold, then turned her attention back to him.

"It's Alexis."

He sat up, reaching for the phone and ignoring the distant ache when his painkiller couldn't quite dampen the protest from his shoulder.

"Is she okay?"

"She says everything is fine," Kate replied, holding the phone away from him for the moment. "But _you_ need to decide what you're going to tell her."

Beckett wasn't sure how lucid he was and she wanted to make sure that he didn't worry Alexis saying something that he might not have initially intended to. He got what she was saying immediately – luckily.

"Car crash okay with you?"

"Yes."

She took the phone off hold and handed it him.

"Alexis?"

Beckett could hear Alexis talking but couldn't hear what exactly she was saying. She started gathering up her paperwork while she heard Castle tell his daughter that they'd been in a car accident while checking out a case. The tone of Alexis' voice became concerned and Beckett smiled at the way Castle calmed her fears by telling her that he was fine – just a little beat up and that Beckett was taking care of him because of the medication the doctors gave him because he'd hit his head. Kate was putting her laptop into the briefcase when Castle tapped her thigh.

"She wants to talk to you."

She took the phone.

"Hi, Alexis."

_"Are you okay?"_

Beckett smiled.

"Yes. Just a bit banged up."

"_And my dad?"_

"He's okay, too. The airbag did more damage than the wreck itself, really. No broken bones, just a lot of bruises."

Castle loved the way she was trying to reassure his daughter, and he slid his hand along Beckett's thigh, which was closest to him. She ran the fingers of her free hand through his hair and he took that as an invitation and leaned over, lifted her shirt a little and kissed her bare side, She shivered at the touch and was hard pressed to keep her attention on the conversation with Alexis.

"_Should we come home?"_

"I…" Beckett didn't think she was really the one to tell her one way or the other. "Here, talk to your dad, honey. You guys can decide what you want to do."

She handed the phone back to Castle, who took it with a smile, and then pushed him back onto his back to make sure he didn't strain his shoulders any more than he already had. He said hello to Alexis to let her know he was the one back on the phone and Beckett kissed his chest before getting out of the bed and heading into the kitchen. Since he was awake she was going to feed him a hearty meal.

About fifteen minutes later, he came out of the bedroom. Not naked, luckily. He had obviously found the clothing that had been put on her dresser, and had put on a pair of jeans – but no shirt, for obvious reasons. He walked over to Beckett, who was surprised to see him up and about. She smiled, though, glad to see that he was up and about. He had that edge in his expression that told her he was feeling some pain, but he was also smiling when he joined her in the kitchen where she was just finishing up a large pan of scrambled eggs to go with the waffles she had cooking in her waffle maker.

"So?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. "Are they coming home?"

"My mother convinced her that there was no sense coming right home. They were planning on wrapping up at Montana State tomorrow and then coming home anyway, so they're going to stick with that plan."

"That will give you another day or so to heal up a bit."

"My thoughts, exactly." The less awful he looked the better to keep Alexis from freaking out. "And it'll give us a chance to make sure that no one lets anything slip about anything but the car crash."

Beckett nodded.

"We can take care of that today sometime." The only ones who would need to know anything were Esposito, Ryan and Lanie since they were the only ones Alexis would normally have a chance to run into when coming to the precinct. "Ready for breakfast?"

"I'm starving."

She gestured for him to go to the table, but he liked helping in the kitchen so when the waffle maker beeped, letting them know the waffle within was ready, Castle took over that duty, leaving her free to finish what she was doing. Waffle making wasn't so strenuous that he couldn't do it, after all, and didn't require him to put his arms up enough that they would hurt.

"Syrup?"

"No."

"No?" He looked over at her. "Butter?"

"No."

Beckett smiled at his look.

"It's a slow day, Castle," she told him. "That means that we have time to do the waffle right."

"And what, pray tell, is the _right_ way to do a waffle?"

"Strawberries and whipped cream."

"Oh."

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"You don't like strawberries or whipped cream?"

"I like both."

"Good."

Of course, he'd never spent a morning like this with her. Usually it was dead bodies or following up on cases. Or, more recently, a lot of pain and uncertainty. Never post-sex, and waking up naked in bed with her beside him working. Never her brushing her fingers through his hair and gentle kisses both given and received. Right now, he was feeling pretty good – despite the fact that he knew it was only the medication keeping the ache in his face down to manageable proportions. He'd take a slow morning with Beckett any day. And waffles with strawberries and whipped cream sounded just fine.

"You're letting the waffle burn," Beckett pointed out, coming up behind him while he was lost in his musing. He jumped, startled, and then swore when he saw that she was right. The thing had beeped, but he hadn't opened the lid and hadn't taken out the waffle, which was now blacker than even strawberries and whipped cream would be able to disguise.

"Sorry."

She grinned, watching as he dropped the burned one on the counter and poured more batter into the maker and closed it up.

"Sure you're not still drugged up?" she asked him.

"No. I was thinking, is all."

"About…?"

He echoed her smile, a somewhat naughty twinkle in his eyes.

"Two guesses."

She made a show of trying to think about it – although there was no doubt in her mind what was on his.

"Strawberries and whipped cream?"

"No."

His stomach growled, then, loudly, and he flushed. Beckett chuckled and set the eggs on the table, which was already set.

"Come and eat," she told him. "I'll finish the waffles."


	51. Chapter 51

_Author's Note: Bozeman is awesome! I almost went there, but decided on WSU instead_

OOOOOOOOO

Breakfast was leisurely for Beckett, who had already eaten a light meal earlier, but not so leisurely for Castle, who had last eaten a tuna sandwich the day before. He ate the eggs she'd brought to the table first, and then when she put a waffle, smothered in crushed strawberries and plenty of whipped cream he wolfed that down as well. Then, when she pushed the rest of her waffle across the table toward him with an amused and gentle smile, he polished that off, too. Only then did he sigh and lean back slightly in the chair.

"Better?" Beckett asked him.

"Absolutely."

He heaved himself to his feet and started to pick up the dishes from the table.

"I can do that."

Castle shook his head.

"You cooked."

"I don't mind."

"I know, and I appreciate it. But if I help _now_, when I feel up to it, I won't feel so guilty if I don't help later."

She shrugged and decided that made sense. But she kind of liked taking care of him. For that matter, though, she liked letting him take care of her, too.

"In that case, you can load the dishwasher. But don't start it, because it won't be full."

"Yes, Ma'am." He passed behind her with the coffee pot and leaned over and refilled her almost empty cup. When he was done, he stopped long enough to brush a kiss against her temple – the one on the uninjured side of her face. "What are your plans for today?"

"I'm going to spend it with you," she replied.

"Just what I wanted to hear."

"And I'm going to finish some paperwork."

"Awww..."

Beckett chuckled.

"But mostly spend time with you."

"That's better."

She hid her smile behind the coffee cup as she took a sip.

"Do you have anything _you_ need to do?"

"Take a shower. _Shave_?" he asked, hopefully, as he loaded the dishwasher.

"Are you sure your face is going to be able to handle that?"

His smile was only for her.

"You have a gentle touch."

"Just make sure you don't get your head wet."

"I will," he promised. "Or…"

"Or?"

He came over and caught her hand.

"Or you could _join_ me. I prefer to shave in the shower, after all…"

She hesitated, but he'd expected that, so he hadn't actually tugged on her hand or anything, figuring he'd let her decide what she wanted to do. Beckett felt a slight thrill go through her at the thought. She doubted he was up to everything he probably thought that he was, but there wasn't any false modesty between them – they were both adults and both of them had definitely enjoyed themselves earlier. She knew that with his mom and daughter coming home soon she wasn't going to have him to herself very long and why _not_ enjoy the time they had? All this went through her head fairly quickly as he held her hand and Beckett smiled at his somewhat shocked expression when she stood up.

"Sounds good," she said, intertwining her fingers in his. "Let's go."

He got over his surprise quickly and grinned cheerfully as the two of them headed for the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOO

As mornings went, it was about as good as either of them could remember having in quite a while. They stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out; plenty of time, though, for them to have a chance to explore and learn about each other. Beckett's shower had a rail – almost certainly installed by a former tenant who had been worried about slipping or taking a fall – and that solid rail was convenient for times when one of them would make the other's knees turn to goo at a caress or a kiss. There was a lot of giggling and splashing as they lathered each other with care and somehow Beckett even made shaving him more sensual than he'd ever believed – although she'd smiled and declined his offer to reciprocate and shave _her_. When the water turned cold and their ardor was far too hot to be denied, they'd dried off and ended up back in her bed, just as eager as before, but far more knowledgeable in how to make the other squirm with pleasure. Mindful of each other's injuries, they still fulfilled the promises of the many smoldering looks and teasing remarks that had come in the years they'd known each other.

Eventually, sated in every way but now hungry again, the two dressed in lounge clothing and made a simple lunch of sandwiches and then cuddled on the couch to eat. Beckett leaned comfortably into him, but didn't let him put his arm over her shoulder since she knew it would strain the muscles already injured. Instead, she held his hand in her own, resting both of them on his thigh and ate one-handed just like he did.

"You're _really_ going to do paperwork?" he asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

"It needs to be done," Kate told him. "Now that you're feeling a bit better, we're going to eventually need a couple of statements from you. Maybe we can do that tomorrow. I'd rather you were more lucid."

"I'm lucid _now_."

She smiled.

"I'm going to feed you another painkiller and let you go back to sleep. The more sleep you get the better you'll look when your mom and Alexis come home."

"You don't think watching you do paperwork will put me to sleep?" he teased, gently.

"I think I would be a distraction that might keep you awake."

"Whatever you want, Kate," he told her, agreeably. He decided that she was probably right, anyway. Her hand on his thigh was a distraction – a very _good_ distraction, but a distraction – and he'd fight sleep just to be able to spend time with her. "I can sleep out here, though, right?"

"I'd like the company."

Beckett was thinking about how much pain he'd been in earlier when he'd woken, and she didn't want him to be sorry for this latest round of loving. Besides, she needed to get the work done, and he was just as much a distraction for her as she might be for him.

They finished eating and Castle went into the bedroom and brought back a blanket and pillow, while Kate went the other direction to get him one of the potent painkillers and herself a couple of aspirin. Her head was just beginning to ache a little and the pills would take the edge off. She gave Castle a half tablet – to keep the pain in check and help him sleep, but not enough to knock him as flat as before – and he washed it down with the last of his tea from their lunch.

"So are you going to tell the others about us?" he asked, waiting for her to settle back on the sofa and then stretching out on his back like she told him to, but with his pillow against her thigh so he could be close to her.

"Lanie will know the minute she sees the triumphant gleam in your eyes," Beckett told him, pulling the blanket over him and brushing her fingers against his cheek. He might prove to be a distraction, after all, even if he slept.

"_Is_ there one?" he asked her, concerned.

She smiled to show him she'd only been teasing.

"No."

"There won't be," Castle promised, sincerely.

"I know, Rick." She cupped his cheek with her palm. "They'll all know about us eventually – probably your mom and Alexis will, too. It's fine with me."

She'd had plenty of time to think about the two of them together, after all – and what she'd tell her friends. At least she knew they all liked him.

He reached up and caught her hand without moving any more than necessary.

"I'll be your conquest, Kate," he said, reminding her of words exchanged when they'd first met. "You can parade me around as much as you want."

"You already are," she told him, taking her hand back so she could pull out her laptop. "Now go to sleep and get healthy."

He smiled up at her, and then closed his eyes, content to be where he was and with her. He could sleep for a while if that was what she wanted.

Beckett rested her free hand on his chest and turned her attention back to her paperwork.


	52. Chapter 52

_Author's note: Alerts appear to be down again, but i'm going to put this next one up anyway. Hopefully people will find it, but if not, then they will have two to read when alerts come back up!_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_I stole it, Rick."_

"_Stole what?"_

"_The Gift. Jeremy doesn't know. Just you and me."_

There wasn't any darkness. Just the room he was tied in. And the woman with two names. Castle didn't even feel any pain. Only curiosity.

"_Where is it?"_

She giggled, and he wasn't sure there was any sanity in the sound.

"_If I tell you he'll kill us both."_

"_He can't," Castle told her. "He's dead."_

"_It's like _Amorous Giants_," she told him, looking back toward the door to the little room as if afraid someone would come rushing in._

"_Where is it?" Castle asked._

"_I can't tell you."_

"_Where is it, Rick?" Beckett asked._

_Castle blinked, startled._

"_Kate?"_

_She was reaching up toward his swollen wrists, a knife in her hand. She cut the ropes and caught him as he fell against her, and her arms were gentle and comforting. His dropped on her shoulder. He wasn't in the little room, now, he was in the warehouse._

"_Where is it, Rick?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_She told you."_

"_No."_

"_You told me she did."_

_Beckett's voice was tender._

"I don't know, Kate. I don't know where it is."

"_It's like _Amorous Giants_," Bridgett told him, over Beckett's shoulder. "Just like that."_

"_Where is it?" Beckett asked him, again, her hand caressing his cheek, obviously trying to soothe him. "Tell me."_

"_I don't know," he whispered, wishing desperately that he did. He'd give her the diamond if she wanted it. If he knew where it was, it'd be hers. "I can't remember…"_

"_I told you," Bridgett said, her voice fading and the darkness returning._

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

_Beckett's arms were still around him._

"_Where is it, Castle?"_

"_I don't know…"_

"_I told you…"_

"Rick, wake up."

Beckett's voice overrode Bridgett's, and fingers ran through his hair, gently. He woke up with a start to find himself still on his back and Beckett looking down at him, concerned.

"Kate?"

She nodded, reaching for the hand he brought up and squeezing it.

"Another nightmare?" she asked.

He shook his head. There hadn't been anything scary about the dream he'd just had. Just frustration, mostly.

"No. Just a crazy dream."

"About the diamond?"

He sat up, but didn't let go of her hand. He didn't need comforting; he just wanted to hold her.

"Bridgett and you…"

Beckett arched an eyebrow at him.

"Do I even _want_ to know?"

"Not _that_ kind of dream," he told her, too distracted to smirk like he might have. "You kept asking me where the Gift was, and she kept telling me that she told me."

"You told me once that she told you," Beckett pointed out. "Maybe she did and you're trying to remember?"

It wouldn't surprise Kate if he were focusing on that in his dreams. But it was certainly better than him having nightmares.

"I'd remember if she told me where it was," he said. "I know I would."

"What's the _Amorous Giants_?" Beckett asked.

He frowned.

"What?"

"The _Amorous Giants_," she repeated. "You were muttering about them in your sleep."

Castle's expression went blank.

"I was?"

"Yes."

"The _Amorous Giants_…?" he asked. "You're sure?"

"Yes."

He let go of her hand and stood up, abruptly, and walked over to her bookshelf. Confused and curious, Beckett got up and joined him.

"You don't have it," he told her.

"It's a book?"

"Yeah. An obscure anthology. One of my first short stories is in it."

"I've never heard of it," she admitted.

"Maybe you're not as big a fan as you-" he stopped in mid-sentence, and stared at her. "Oh…"

"What is it?"

"I think I know where the diamond is," Castle said.

"What? How? Where?"

"Bridgett was talking about how much of a fan she was. She probably read it."

"The short story?"

"Yes. To make a short story even shorter, it's about a guy who stole a very expensive necklace, and then had it stolen from him. He was a member of the mob, though, and the person who stole it didn't know. So he hid it someplace the mob guy wouldn't look for it and then faked his death to get everyone to stop looking for it."

"Where did he hide it?" Beckett asked, curiously, wondering how she'd missed one of his stories – even an early one.

"In the mobster's house," Castle replied with a sudden grin. "Right under his nose."

Kate stared.

"You think it's at your house?"

"Bridgett stole it from Jeremy, and she had access to my house keys, which would make it easy. If I'm right, I know exactly where it is."


	53. Chapter 53

_Author's note: Sorry about the wait on a new chapter. Real life had to come first. Watching the new Castle episode as I write this and wondering why they bothered to shoot Beckett in the chest if they had no intention of following up on that with an actual scar to show from it. /rant off_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett frowned.

"That's pretty thin…"

He looked over at her, and she saw that he was more animated than he'd been in days – aside from certain physical exceptions.

"It makes _perfect_ sense. The woman was crazy – _and_ a fan. I remember her mentioning the book – I have to be remembering it because there's absolutely no other reason for my subconscious to be bringing it into my dreams otherwise. She had the opportunity, and the motive. It's obvious Jeremy wasn't a fan, so there's no way he would have known to look there. _You're_ a fan and _you_ haven't even read it."

"I would have if I knew about it," she muttered, making him smile.

"Can't we just go check?"

She didn't have the heart to tell him no; he was so excited.

"Sure. Get dressed."

She wasn't going to go dressed in what they were wearing, after all. Castle made an excited noise and headed into the bedroom, while Beckett reached for her cell.

OOOOOOOOOO

"So tell me more about this story," Kate said as they drove to his place. "Why haven't I ever heard of it?"

"It honestly wasn't _that_ good," he admitted. "But I did like the mob part, and I was pretty impressed with myself at the time as I recall."

She shook her head and as they drove he explained more about the premise and pretty much took away any need for her to actually read it. She pulled her car into the visitor's parking area and Castle waved to the doorman as they walked by him on the way to the elevator.

"Good to see you Mr. Castle," he said, giving a half salute.

"Good to be seen, I assure you."

"You have a lot of mail stacked up here-"

"I'll get it later, thanks," the writer interrupted as politely as he could, too eager to get to his place to be as social as he usually was.

"Yes, sir."

The reply was said to the closing door of the elevator, though, and a short time later, Castle was unlocking the door to the loft.

"So are you going to tell me where you think it is hidden?" Beckett asked. The one part of the story he hadn't shared on the way over was the final hiding place of the necklace. Not that that was really that much of a surprise to Beckett. He was too much of a showman not to want to draw out the suspense and she knew it.

"The necklace was made of diamonds," he said, grinning. "_Ice_. Get it?"

"It was hidden in the freezer?"

The two of them crossed the main room and headed for the kitchen, and Castle opened the freezer.

"Not just in the freezer," he said, taking out the icemaker pieces and finally the main tub where the ice collected after it was made. "It might have been spotted if the mobster decided he wanted a frozen pizza." He went to the sink and made sure the strainer was in the drain hole before dumping out the ice cubes into the sink and turning on the hot water.

As they both leaned over the sink and watched, the hot water melted the ice cubes fairly quickly. All but one. Beckett shook her head, amazed, and reached into the sink and pulled out an ice cube that was only a little larger than the ones that had melted. Only this ice cube wasn't ice at all, and it was sparkly and shiny and cut into what seemed to be a millions facets. Even Kate, who wasn't all that materialistic, was fascinated by the way the light touched the diamond, and completely understood suddenly why people were so crazy for the things.

"Wow," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm impressed."

"With the diamond?" he asked. "Or by the fact that I figured out where it was?"

"Both."

"_I'm_ impressed that you managed to live long enough to find it at all," a new voice said, making both of them turn toward the doorway.

A man was standing there. Dark haired, about the same build as Castle and the same height. A man with a gun pointed at both of them and an odd expression on his face as his gaze darted from Castle, to Beckett, and then to the diamond Kate was holding. Beckett frowned, instantly thinking that she recognized him, but uncertain where she knew him from. Castle didn't have any such difficulty. He frowned, too, and looked at the man and then back to Beckett and then back to him.

"Jimmy?"

"Hey, Rick."

"I thought you were dead."

Beckett immediately knew who he was, then.

"He _is_ dead," she said. "Lanie said she was able to confirm it."

The man – who definitely _looked_ like Jimmy the Cane – smiled.

"I'm not, obviously."

"But then who was floating in the –"

"That was the new Dread Pirate Roberts," the man said, making Beckett frown and Castle almost grin.

"What the hell does that mean?" the detective asked, confused.

"It's from _Princess Bride_," Castle explained, unable to stop himself and beating the other man to it – assuming he had any intention of explaining. "A pirate of near-mythical reputation, The Dread Pirate Roberts is feared across the seven seas for his ruthlessness and swordfighting prowess, and is well-known for taking no prisoners. During the course of the movie you find out that he isn't one man, but a series of individuals who periodically pass the name and reputation to a chosen successor. Everyone except the successor and the former Roberts is then paid off in some port, and a brand new crew is hired – one that doesn't know either of them. The former Roberts stays aboard as first mate, referring to his successor as "Captain Roberts", and thereby establishing the new Dread Pirate Roberts. Once the crew is convinced, the former Roberts leaves the ship and retires on his earnings and the new guy gets to play pirate until _he's_ ready to retire and find his own replacement."

"But what-"

"He was ready to retire, so he found someone that looked like him and set him up as Jimmy the Cane," Rick said.

"You always were a smart guy, Rick," Jimmy said. "I was ready to retire all right. Came out of hiding after 5 years, had it all figured out, had my replacement picked and trained and everything."

"Then what happened?"

"What? Are you serious?" He scowled. "You saw me, and figured out that I wasn't dead. Damn near ruined everything when you followed me into that stupid store. It was all I could do to keep Jeremy from killing you then and there."

"Why would you do that?" Beckett asked, sliding her hand almost casually up her side, hoping to reach her gun before he figured out what she was doing.

"For old times sakes," Jimmy told her, the gun now pointing at her. "Hand over your weapon, Detective. No funny stuff."

Beckett winced, and reached even more slowly for her service weapon, which had been tucked into the back of her pants in a holster. She pulled it out, carefully, and he waved his gun at the counter, and she set it on that, and then pushed it out of her reach.

"Now the diamond."

"What are you going to do with us?" Castle asked as Beckett reached out the hand with the diamond and set it on the counter where she'd put the gun.

"I can't let you go twice, Rick." The man even sounded a little regretful.

"When did you let me go the first time?"

"Well, I didn't exactly let you go," he admitted. "But I gave the cops a chance to find you when they didn't even know you were missing."

"By putting Castle's wallet in the New Dread Pirate Rogers?" Beckett asked.

"_Roberts_," Rick corrected.

"Yes. Clever, huh?"

"You could have sent us a note."

"No. I couldn't have." The gun had started to lower while they were talking, but it came up again, and now his expression was stoney. "I'm sorry about this. It wasn't supposed to –"

There was suddenly a quick rap on the door, startling all of them, and the sound of the door opening.

"Yo, Beckett. Where-"

"Watch out!"

It was the only warning Beckett could get out before she lunged for her gun, the diamond clattering on the floor as it fell. It was enough of a warning that Esposito and Ryan – who was behind him – knew to duck, just as the gun went off.


	54. Chapter 54

Esposito swore and dodged back out of the doorway, grabbing Ryan's jacket as he did so and pulling his partner with him. The edge of Castle's front door vanished as it was blown into pieces by the bullet.

"What the hell?"

Both of them pulled their guns, taking positions on the left side of the door and peeking in to try and get an idea of who had shot at them and where he/she was so they could shoot back without risking Beckett – who they _knew_ was in there – and Castle, who they assumed was as well. They both ducked as they heard another shot, but this time no bullet came their way and they both recognized the different report as coming from the same weapon Beckett carried.

"Who the hell is _that_?" Ryan hissed.

"I don't know, Bro," Esposito admitted. "I thought everyone was dead."

"Me, too."

OOOOOOOOOOO

The shot was shockingly loud, and resonated through Castle's entire kitchen and living room area. Rick had ducked even as Beckett had sounded her warning, and when he turned, before the sound had echoed out, he saw that Kate's momentum from the grab for her gun had forced her out of the comparative safety of the counter and left her now hiding behind the less than solid table and chairs at the edge of the kitchen. She _had_ managed to get her gun, though, and he watched her scan the area quickly before showing just enough of herself that she could get off a shot toward where Jimmy had last been.

Castle heard scrabbling on hardwood floor on the other side of the counter, and thought it must be the fence trying to get into a better position. What it _really_ was supposed to do was give Beckett a chance to find better cover, and she tried to do just that, moving back toward the counter, since it was the only decent protection. Another shot rang out, though, and Beckett yelped and dropped to the floor only feet away from Castle, her gun clattering as it slid away from her hand.

"No!"

Rick didn't even hesitate. Terrified that he'd lost her just as they'd finally reached an understanding, he lunged out from behind the counter and grabbed Beckett's arm to pull her back. She rolled over at the touch, and he had just enough time to see blood before two more shots sounded. Castle flattened himself on her, still trying to move her, and now instinctively trying to cover her at the same time. Kate groaned softly under him, and he felt a thrill of relief go through him at the sound.

"Give me the diamond, Rick!" he heard Jimmy yell, desperately, from somewhere near his office. "It doesn't have to end badly. I'll leave and you won't-"

Another shot fired and there was the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. It had ended badly the minute Jimmy the Cane showed himself enough to Ryan, who took the shot that ended the gun battle. Esposito and Ryan rushed into the room, Ryan heading for the fallen body of the fence, while Esposito looked around, his gun still up and searching for anyone else that might be a threat.

"Over here!" Castle yelled, already starting to check Beckett out. There was blood, so he knew she'd been hit, and he was frantic to get her taken care of.

"Castle…" she murmured, trying to push herself upright.

"Stay down," Esposito told her, dropping down on the other side of her and putting his hand on her shoulder to keep her still until he could figure out where the blood was coming from. Her shirt was soaked with the stuff. He looked over at Castle, checking him for blood or injury. He had blood on him, but Esposito didn't see any sign of injury in the quick glance he took. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

Before Esposito could say anything else, Ryan came around the counter, saw what was going on and immediately reached for his phone to call for help. Castle opened the drawer right above them and pulled out a handful of washcloths while Esposito pulled up Beckett's shirt and exposed the cause of the blood.

"Oh, God…" Castle hissed, seeing the gunshot wound on Beckett's side.

"Relax, Castle," Esposito told him, taking the washcloths from him and pressing the whole mess of them against the wound. "It's bleeding badly, but it looks pretty shallow." He'd seen a lot more gunshot wounds than Castle had, so of the two he was undoubtedly the expert.

"Still hurts," Beckett whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at the two of them.

"I know." Esposito was relieved she was awake and talking. "We've got an ambulance coming. Just try and take it easy."

"Yeah…" She reached for Castle's hand and caught it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Who's the dead guy?" Ryan asked, exchanging a glance with his partner at the somewhat intimate look that had just passed between Beckett and Castle. Not a look that they'd seen before.

"Jimmy the Cane," Castle answered.

"I thought he was dead?"

"No. Well, he is _now_, but he wasn't before."

"So who was the dead guy with Castle's wallet?" Esposito asked, confused.

"The Dead Pirate Rogers," Beckett answered.

Esposito frowned, wondering if she'd managed to hit her head or something, too, and they just hadn't noticed. Castle smiled, though.

"The Dread Pirate Roberts," he corrected. "Jimmy was going to retire with the money he got from fencing the diamond."

"And the other guy was going to be the new Jimmy the Cane?" Ryan asked, proving that he'd seen the movie at least once, so he understood the reference.

"Yes."

"So where's the diamond?" Esposito asked, looking around. "Was Castle right about it being here?"

Rick looked around, too, and then let go of Beckett's hand. He got up, walked over and picked up her gun – turning on the safety – and then knelt down next to one of the chairs and reached under the table and retrieved the diamond from where it had landed. As he walked back a swarm of firefighters and paramedics entered the loft and Castle found his way to Beckett blocked by them and all of their equipment. Esposito and Ryan were both pushed out of the way, too, and the joined Castle who handed the diamond to Ryan.

"Wow. It's pretty."

Of course, probably _most_ things worth 700 million could be called pretty.

"Where was it?" Esposito asked, taking it from his partner and looking at it.

"In the ice machine."

"Really?" Ryan looked at them. "I read a story somewhere about a mob guy who stole a necklace and then had it stolen or something and it ended up being hidden at his own house right in his ice maker. Weird coincidence, huh?"

Castle grinned, noticing that the paramedics were putting Beckett on a backboard and getting ready to put her on a gurney to transport her. He definitely wanted to go with them if they would let him.

"That _is_ weird," he said, walking over to see what he could do, and leaving Ryan and Esposito with the diamond.

He had Beckett. He didn't need a diamond.


	55. Chapter 55

_Author's note: You'd think that Spring Break would mean more time to write, not less! Again, I'm sorry about the wait, but here you all go._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Roy Montgomery rushed into the emergency waiting room, he found Detective Ryan sitting in one of the many chairs, fumbling through a Time magazine and Richard Castle standing near the door talking on his cell phone. Montgomery nodded at Castle, but didn't interrupt his call, and opted instead to go over to Ryan, who was happy to toss his magazine on the end table.

"How is she?"

"Gunshot wound to the side. The doctors are saying that the bullet went in and out, but they wanted to double check for any internal injuries so they are running a bunch of tests."

"Is she in surgery?"

"Not unless they find something with their other tests," Ryan said. "The guy I talked to said that opening her up to look for injuries would only create more. They're using an ultrasound, I think."

Montgomery looked over at Castle, who still looked terrible. Bruised and somewhat swollen, he was garnering looks from people who were obviously wondering why some doctor hadn't taken him into the back to take care of him.

"Who's _he_ talking to?" Montgomery asked, wondering who could keep Castle on the phone that long when he had to be worried about Beckett.

"Building manager," Ryan answered with a smirk. "He wants to know who's going to fix the damage to Castle's place from all the gunshots."

The Captain smiled at that.

"Rick can probably afford the costs."

"What did Javier find out?"

Esposito had gone to the precinct to take care of the paperwork from the latest round of craziness – and to find out exactly what they were supposed to be doing with the diamond.

"It goes into evidence for now," Montgomery answered.

"Then what? Does Castle get to keep it?"

"Keep what?" Rick asked, walking over just in time to hear the question.

"The diamond."

Castle looked at Montgomery.

"I don't, do I?"

"No."

"Awww."

"But there _is_ the matter of the reward from the insurance company."

"How much?" Ryan asked, curiously.

"We didn't ask."

Before anyone could say anything else, Lanie entered the room, clearly worried. She saw them and headed over.

"How is she?"

Castle was quick to reassure.

"The doctor's say she's going to be fine. They're checking her now to see how much damage the bullet caused."

"Was she awake? Did she say anything?"

"Yes. She was conscious the whole way here. They didn't give her a lot of chance to talk, though. They were asking her all sorts of questions."

He knew well those questions, since only a short time before he'd been the one on the receiving end of them. He was going to say more, but one of the emergency doctors made an appearance just then and they all stopped and turned to her as she walked over. The doctor obviously knew who Castle was, because she couldn't manage to suppress the smile when she saw him, and they all saw a slight flush on her cheeks. Castle was used to that reaction, and had he not been so worried he would have found it appealing. As it was, though, he just held back, since he knew Montgomery would want to be the one asking all the questions.

Sure enough, the Captain was the first one to speak once they knew for sure that this doctor was heading for them.

"How is she, doctor?" he asked.

"I'm relieved to be able to tell you that there doesn't seem to be any serious internal injuries. Just the gunshot."

"She's going to be okay?" Castle asked.

"We'll keep her overnight, just to observe, but she should be fine. They're admitting her, now."

Rick sighed in relief, and Lanie put her arm around him, just as relieved.

"Can we see her?" Montgomery asked.

"As soon as she's settled, yes. She's going to be a bit groggy from the medications we've given her, though, so don't expect much by way of conversation."

"Thank you."

She flashed Castle a smile.

"You're welcome. I'll be around if you have any questions."

She left them alone, then, and they all settled in to wait a little longer, but now without the lingering concern.

OOOOOOOOOO

Kate Beckett had been injured a couple of times in the line of duty. Nothing too serious, and never anything that had require more than a quick stop in the emergency room. Certainly nothing like this; with the tests, and all the doctors and nurses and the wires, machines and painkillers. It was a little scary, and she wished that Rick was with her to hold her hand and flash her that confident smile that she loved so much and reassure her that she was going to be okay. The medical staff at the hospital were great – they kept reassuring her that everything looked fine – but the medication they gave her was making her feel detached and out of sorts, and all she could think of was that she wanted him with her.

Finally, they were finished with the tests and got her settled into a room and into bed with only a minimal amount of monitoring equipment. Beckett dozed off, unable to fight the painkillers, and she was sleeping on her uninjured side when the others quietly entered her room to check on her.

Castle was the first through the door, and he quietly moved over to the side of her bed, looking at the monitor that was keeping track of her heartbeats and her blood pressure, but apparently not many other stats. That had to be a good sign, he decided. Proof that the doctor had been telling the truth when she'd said that they weren't too concerned about Beckett. If they were, he reasoned, there would be a lot more wires, tubes and machines.

"She _looks_ okay," Ryan murmured, softly, not wanting to wake her.

"Yeah, she does," Montgomery agreed, relieved.

Neither of them went beyond the entrance of the room, but Lanie walked over to stand by Castle, who had carefully taken Beckett's hand.

"She's going to need sleep more than anything right now," she said, her hand resting lightly on Castle's back. "We should let her rest."

He nodded, knowing she was right, but unwilling to let go of her hand. She was hurt because of him, after all, and the weight of that guilt was unbearable. Bad enough the cut and bruise from the car crash, but now a gunshot?

"I'm going to head back to the precinct," Montgomery said.

"Me, too," Ryan agreed. Esposito would want to hear face to face how Beckett was, and he'd also need help with all the paperwork from the shooting at Castle's. They were so behind on everything as far as the case was going – not a big surprise considering all the twists and turns that kept jumping up at them.

Lanie hadn't missed the stricken look on Castle's face, although she was certain the other two hadn't noticed from the doorway.

"I think I'll wait around here for her to wake up," she told them.

"Let us know if we can do anything," Montgomery told her.

"I will."

They left, closing the door behind them, and Lanie brushed her hand along Castle's back.

"Are you okay?"

"This is my fault…" he whispered, letting go of Kate's hand and sinking into the chair that was right beside the bed and burying his head in his hands. "I led her right into an ambush."

"This _isn't_ your fault, Castle," Lanie told him, resting her hand on his head. "Kate knew there was a chance of something happening, that's why she called Javier and Ryan and told them to meet you guys there."

"She could have been killed."

"She wasn't."

"It could have been so _bad_…" his voice broke, and he leaned forward, his battered face coming to rest against her belly. Lanie held him, reassuring him as well as she could until Kate could wake up and do it herself.


	56. Chapter 56

_Author's note: Happy Easter!_

OOOOOOOOOO

Castle didn't stay awake long. It had been a long day and he wasn't much healthier than Beckett was, after all. His body was screaming for sleep and a chance to heal a little more, and the room – like all hospital rooms – was peaceful and dimly lit in order to encourage rest. He wasn't immune to it. He dozed off in the chair, his head cushioned by a pillow and Lanie draped a blanket over him to make sure he was warm enough. When Kate finally opened her eyes and looked around, blankly, it was Lanie who was there to give her the reassuring smile she needed.

"Hey…"

"Hi."

She didn't seem up to too much conversation, which wasn't all that surprising. Lanie held a straw against her lips so she could have a much needed drink of water.

"How do you feel?"

"Really sore."

"I bet."

Beckett had noticed Rick sleeping in the chair by the bed by then.

"Is he okay?"

She couldn't remember anything bad happening – beyond all the bad things that already had – but she had to admit that the ache in her side was making it hard for her to concentrate completely on him.

"He's fine," Lanie answered, looking over at the sleeping writer. "Well… not _fine_…" he was bruised and beat up and looked terrible, but no worse than he had that morning, most likely. "He's going to be okay," she told her.

Beckett was quiet, but continued to watch him sleep, and Lanie smirked – despite her friend's injuries.

"Should I ask them to get you a bigger bed and have them put him in it with you?"

Kate flushed, which made Lanie's smile broaden. Which made Beckett give her a tired scowl.

"What?"

"You slept with him, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, girl," Lanie practically crowed with amusement, and only the sleeping writer's presence kept her from doing just that. "I know the medication they gave you isn't that strong." She leaned over and now her voice was barely a whisper. "You and Castle finally did it – didn't you?"

"What are you, ten?" Kate asked, more amused than annoyed – and just a little embarrassed. "We didn't _do it_; we-"

"Call it what you will," Lanie said. "You _did_, though, right?"

"Yes."

There wasn't any reason to deny it and she'd never have been able to hide it from her best friend anyway. Lanie grinned again, but she opted not to make too much of a fuss – at least just then. Kate was hurting, and that wasn't the best time to tease your friend.

"From the looks of things, I'm going to be taking both of you home with me tomorrow."

"His mom and Alexis will be home tomorrow."

"Then I'm going to miss the chance to watch you guys cuddling?"

"Lanie…"

She smiled, not at all repentant. Besides, she would have liked to see them cuddle – it had only taken them years to get there, after all – but she let it drop. Again. She touched Beckett's arm lightly.

"I'm going to go let one of the nurses know you're awake so they can give you something for the pain."

The teasing was over, and Beckett was grateful for it. Not that she minded Lanie picking on her, but the more awake she was, the more she ached.

"Thanks."

Lanie left and Kate turned her head again and watched Castle sleep. Before anyone could return, though, the room worked its magic, even with the ache in her side, and she drifted off.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey…"

The voice was a whisper, so soft that it was almost certainly a dream. The whisper was accompanied by a gentle touch; fingers brushing against her cheek. Beckett might have ignored one or the other, but not both. Especially once her sleep-fogged mind realized that she recognized the voice. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into Rick's. He smiled when he saw she was awake, but he didn't say anything, perhaps to give her a chance to wake up a little more. He looked as tired as she felt, and the bruises around his eyes and nose were still vivid, making him look even worse. But there was no mistaking the look in his eyes as anything but love. Automatically she reached out her hand and touched his cheek.

"Hi…" she frowned, wondering why he'd woken her. "Everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. The doctors say you look good for someone who was shot."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Beckett shifted so that she could sit up, and was surprised that it didn't hurt worse than it did when she moved. She figured it was probably a painkiller keeping the ache away, which was fine with her. The upright position made her lightheaded – but only for a moment – and now she was able to look around a little. Castle had shifted his position when she'd sat up and now he was perched on the edge of her bed. Other than himself, the room was empty, but there was a tray on the rolling table by her bed that smelled pretty good. Her stomach growled, and he grinned.

"Hungry?"

"Yes."

He pulled the table over and positioned it so she could reach the tray. She removed the lid and found a typical hospital breakfast; scrambled eggs, an English muffin, a couple of sausage links, and fruit.

"It's not waffles," he told her, unwrapping her silverware for her. "But it'll fill you up."

"No coffee?"

"Not until they get all their tests done. Water only."

"Awww."

He grinned to hear her use one of his favorite complaints, and tucked her napkin into the neckline of her hospital gown.

"You eat, and I will let them know you're awake."

"I get to go home?"

"You can be released if someone is available to keep an eye on you."

"Lanie said she'd take me home with her."

At least Beckett thought she remembered her saying something like that.

"I know. She told me." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I have a better idea, though."

Before he could tell her what that idea was, though, he got off the bed and headed out the door. Beckett frowned, but curiosity could only compete so long with breakfast when someone was hungry, and she was hungry enough to let it slide for then. Instead, she turned her attention to her breakfast.


	57. Chapter 57

_Author's note: This one is a little short, but I wanted to get a chapter out for you guys before I get busy!_

OOOOOOOOO

"This isn't the way to my place."

"That's because we're not _going_ to your place."

Beckett frowned, and looked out the window again before looking over at Lanie.

"It's not the way to _your_ place, either…"

"We're not going there, either."

"Lanie…"

"Relax, Kate. You know where we're going. Just stop and think about it."

"Castle isn't going to have time for me," she said, realizing that that was probably where they were going – they were going the right direction, anyway. "His mom and daughter-"

"He's going to have plenty of time for you. Besides, it wasn't even his idea."

"What? Whose was it?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask. All I know is that I was told to take you there once the hospital released you."

"He told you?"

"Montgomery did."

"Castle's on more pain medication than I am," she said. "I don't-"

"Don't you want to spend time with him?"

"Of course I do. But-"

"But?"

"I don't know… I don't want to be in his way, I guess. He's going to be with his family, he should spend time with them."

Lanie looked over at her since they were at a stoplight.

"You know as well as I do that he wants to spend time with you, too. You should know it better than I do since the change in your relationship. Don't make it hard on you – or him. Just accept that and try to enjoy his company. If I had a handsome rich writer in love with me, I'd spend all my free time with him."

"We haven't actually _mentioned_ love…"

"Please…" she wasn't even concerned, and waved that away with a simple motion of her hand. "You can see it when you look at him looking at you. The words aren't there, but the feeling is. Just let him take care of you, and get better."

Beckett sighed, but she didn't argue. She wasn't really feeling up to any argument and probably didn't even want to argue about it if she was honest with herself. Instead she leaned against the seat, her hand protectively over her side

"Fine."

"Good."

The light changed and the car moved forward again.

OOOOOOOOOO

Castle's loft wasn't quiet and peaceful. There were three workmen there, fixing the damage done by the gunfire the day before. That included replacing the areas on the wall with bullet holes, damage done to the doorframe, and cleaning Beckett's blood from the floor. Castle was overseeing things – mainly just sitting on a bar stool and watching them while nursing a cup of coffee. He looked up at the knock on the door and smiled when Lanie and Beckett walked in.

Kate was walking slowly, clearly stiff and sore, but he was glad – and relieved – to see her on her feet. He'd been worried that the doctors weren't going to let her leave the hospital, and had then been worried that they wouldn't let him take care of her. He'd stopped taking the really strong painkillers – he didn't need them, really, when a couple of aspirin would do the trick to dull the pain in his head – and had talked to Montgomery about how he would be able to take better care of Beckett than anyone, since he was able to completely clear his schedule to make time for her. Montgomery hadn't been fooled, but he did agree with Castle, and was willing to let Castle watch her.

Lanie looked around as she walked over to the kitchen with Kate.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked.

"What?"

"How is Beckett supposed to get any rest with all this going on around her?"

He smirked.

"You let me worry about that."

"Castle…"

Lanie wasn't going to 'let him worry about that'. She wanted to know.

"Follow me."

He led them down the hallway and into a door that turned out to be the door to what had to be his bedroom. It was a large room tastefully decorated and dominated by a large bed piled with pillows and a blue comforter. A doorway led to a master bath, but the light was off so neither could see into it. They both noticed, however, that the moment he shut the door behind them, they couldn't hear any of the banging and pounding that was going on in the living room.

"Sound proof bedroom?" Lanie asked, raising an eyebrow.

He had the grace to flush – just a little.

"Let's just say it was a good idea when Alexis was younger."

Kate shook her head.

"I can't stay here."

"Of course you can."

"You're not any healthier than I am," she pointed out. "You need your bed."

"I haven't been _shot_," he reminded her. "Thanks to you. You need a place to heal and this is perfect. We close the door and you can sleep as long as you need to. And I can take care of you just as well as Lanie can."

"I wouldn't say just as well," Lanie objected. "I'm a doctor, after all."

"Yeah, but you deal with _dead_ people."

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"What about your mom and Alexis?"

"What about them?"

"They shouldn't have to deal with this…"

"It was my mother's idea, Kate," he told her, smiling. "Just give it a try, okay? Please?"

She couldn't say no to him. Well, she _could_, but in this instance she didn't really want to. She was sore and tired, and wanted to be taken care of, and she wanted him to be the one who did it. She'd given him all the reasons that he shouldn't be, and he'd countered them with reasonable arguments. She looked at Lanie, who made her expression carefully neutral, and shrugged.

"Okay."

His smile broadened.

"Great." He took the bag Lanie had been holding and set it on his dresser. "You get ready for bed, and I'll make you some lunch." He looked over at Lanie. "That includes you, too."

"Nope. Not me. I'm going to lunch with Javier. You two have fun."

"I think we can handle that."

Beckett ignored Lanie's knowing smile and took her bag and headed for the bathroom.


	58. Chapter 58

Castle's bed was as comfortable as it looked. Kate dressed in lounge pants and a t-shirt and slid under the comforter – there was also a blanket and flannel sheets; he clearly didn't want her to catch a chill. There were plenty of pillows. She could pile them up and be upright, or use just a couple to lay flat. At the moment she wanted to sit up, so she opted to make a little mountain of them. By the time she was settled, listing just a little to the side to protect her injured side, he was back, carrying a tray.

"Comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Hungry?"

She nodded and he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, draping the tray over her lap and clicking the legs of the tray down on either side of her thighs to stabilize it. Lunch was a sandwich, a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a cup of jell-o. There was a cup of coffee and he'd also put a small vase with a single red rose on the tray – a sweet touch. She smiled and pulled the rose out of the vase so she could smell it.

"This is nice."

"You took care of me," he said, his eyes smiling at her but his tone serious. "It's my turn. Okay?" He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he leaned over and pressed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. "Do you need anything else?"

"No."

"Then you eat that and I'll get you a pain pill so you can sleep."

"When are Martha and Alexis supposed to be home?"

"Any time. I sent a car for them since I wasn't sure when Lanie was going to bring you."

"You should have gone. I would have been okay with her."

"I sent a limo. My mother is going to love it."

"And Alexis?"

"She likes you. She'll understand." That made Beckett smile, and he patted her arm, glad that he'd made her happy. "Eat, Kate. I'll be back in a minute."

He left her alone so he wasn't a distraction and went out into the kitchen to get her that pill he'd promised. As he was filling her a water bottle – which he decided was better than a glass – he heard a disruption at the door and looked over just in time to see his mother walk in the door, holding a bag and looking at the workman who was repairing the door jam. Right behind her was Alexis and after her came the driver of the limo, weighed down with all the other bags.

"Put those bags anywhere, dear," Martha said to the driver as they walked into the living room. Then she saw her son standing at the sink, the light in the kitchen showing quite clearly the bruising on his face. "Oh, Richard…" She'd known he was going to be beat up – he'd warned her over the phone when he'd called her that morning – but he looked so battered and tired that it made her heart ache for him. He was her baby, after all.

"You look awful," Alexis told him, coming around the counter to hug him, but hesitating since she didn't want to hurt him. Castle wasn't so uncertain. He wanted a hug.

"It's fine, honey," he told her, hugging her close and holding her tight. He smiled over her shoulder at his mother, who had also walked over. She carefully pushed the hair back from his forehead to give herself a better look at his face, and the stitches.

"That's from the airbag?" Martha asked, frowning.

Alexis pulled away so she could see his face as well.

"Yes. But nothing is broken," he assured them. "And it _looks_ a lot worse than it is."

"And Detective Beckett was hurt, too?"

"In the car wreck, yes," he confirmed. "But not quite as spectacularly. She bumped her head – a cut and a bruise."

Martha looked around the loft.

"But then she was shot?"

Since he'd already told her the story – very laundered – it wasn't as much of a shock as it might have been. He could dismiss his injuries as only from the wreck – even if they saw him without his shirt – but there was no pretending a bullet wound was anything but a bullet wound, so he'd told them about the diamond and how James had followed him and Beckett to the loft and about the ensuing gunfire.

"Yes."

"Is she okay?" Alexis asked. Her mother had told her the story, but it was still scary.

"She is. She's in my room finishing lunch and hopefully getting some rest."

Again, they both knew that Beckett was going to be at the house – Martha had suggested it, like Castle had told Lanie and Kate – so that wasn't a surprise, either. They didn't even ask why she wasn't on the couch, since it was obvious that with all the work going on in the living room and other areas there was no way she'd have been able to get any rest. Or privacy.

"Do you think it'd be okay if I go say hi?" Alexis asked.

Castle smiled.

"I think she'd like that," he told her. He handed her the water bottle he'd filled and the painkiller in a little paper cup. "Give her those, will you, honey?"

"Sure."

Alexis gave him another glance, checking out the bruises he knew, and left the kitchen, and Martha waited until she was out of earshot.

"Everything is okay, now, right?"

"Yes, Mother. James is dead, the diamond is recovered and all that's left is to get Beckett healed up."

"And yourself."

She hadn't missed that he was moving stiffly.

"I'm much better."

"I'll be the judge of that," Martha told him, brushing a gentle kiss against his cheek. "Why don't you go spend some time with your daughter? I'll watch things here for you."

He smiled, hugging her.

"Thank you. There's lunch, if you're hungry."

He went around the counter and headed for his room, as well, and Martha looked around once more, and then realized the limo driver was still waiting. Apologetic, she reached for her purse.

OOOOOOOOO

A soft tapping at the door made Kate look up from the soup she was contemplating. She expected it to be Castle, and was surprised to see Alexis stick her head through the doorway.

"Can I come in?"

Beckett smiled.

"Sure."

Castle's daughter walked over to the bed, looking uncertain. Beckett was sure she'd never talked to someone who was recovering from a gunshot, so she could definitely understand.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little sore," Kate admitted. "How was your trip?"

Alexis smiled.

"Amazing. Everyone was so nice." She handed the bottle of water over to the detective, as well as the little cup with the pill. "Here."

"Thank you." Beckett took a drink of the water, but didn't swallow the pill just yet. "Tell me about your trip. Did you see any place that you liked?"

The girl's face lit up.

"I-"

"Wait!" They both turned to see Castle coming through the door, and both smiled at him, which made his heart soar. "I have to hear this, too," he said. He walked over, and put his arms around Alexis, pulling her down onto the edge of the bed with him so they didn't have to stand.

Amused and somewhat touched at finding herself in the middle of such a domestic scene Kate leaned back into her pillows, but Castle gestured at her lunch tray, clearly telling her that the return of his family didn't excuse her from eating something. Martha appeared a short time later, while Alexis was telling them about the first day of their trip and Castle's mother had brought the rest of them lunch on another tray. They ate while Alexis and Martha talked, and Beckett eventually drifted off, lulled to sleep by the warmth of the bed and a full stomach.


	59. Chapter 59

_Author's note: I'm really sorry about the space there between posts. I've been pretty sick and not only did I not feel like writing (and I kind of still don't, but I've made you wait long enough) but if I write when I don't feel good, then the chapter usually ends up being something I read later and wonder what the heck I was thinking!_

OOOOOOOOOO

It was Martha who noticed Beckett had fallen asleep. She gestured for the other two to be quiet, then picked up one tray and with another gesture told her son to get the one that had held the detective's lunch and ushered them both out of the bedroom.

"Do you think I bored her?" Alexis asked, as she closed the door behind them.

Castle smiled.

"She's _healing_, Sweetheart. That takes a lot of energy. It didn't have anything to do with your stories."

They all walked into the kitchen, and he and Martha started cleaning off trays.

"You look pretty tired, too, Daddy," Alexis told him. "Maybe you should get some rest?"

"I'm going to," he assured her. "I just wanted to make sure you had a good time first."

"Do I dare ask where _you're_ going to sleep?" Martha asked him.

"On the couch."

"With all the noise?" his mother asked, frowning at the workmen – or rather, the jobs they were doing. "Why don't you go sleep in my bed?"

"Because I'm not a huge fan of jasmine scented bedding."

"Sleep in mine," Alexis offered. "Unless stuffed animals frighten you?" she added with a smile.

He reached out and pulled her into another hug, extremely glad to have her home.

"I think I'll take you up on that, Daughter. You'll wake me if Beckett needs anything?"

"No," Martha said. "We'll take care of it and let you sleep."

With her arms still around him, Alexis pulled him toward the stairs, and her room.

"Go on," she told him.

"Come tuck me in?"

She smiled.

"Okay."

He kicked his shoes off before heading up the stairs and Alexis made a big show of getting her bed cleared of the stuffed animals that normally kept her company in the middle of the night.

"So tell me more about this diamond…" she said, as he slid under her blankets.

"It was shiny."

"And?"

"And worth a lot of money."

"Do you get to keep it?"

"No."

"Too bad."

Castle smiled, fluffing his pillow a little before settling in completely.

"It's not the kind of diamond you can wear around, Alexis. You'd have to have a police force around you the entire time."

"Diamonds are _very_ alluring," she told him.

"I know." He'd seen and felt what people would do for a diamond. Castle patted the spot next to him. "Keep me company?"

"No. Otherwise I'll keep you _awake_." She smiled at the pouting noise he made, but then her expression grew serious – worried, even. "Detective Beckett's going to be okay, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." She leaned over and kissed his forehead, not going anywhere near the bruises around his eyes or cheeks. "I love you."

Castle was pretty sure his heart was going to turn to goo at any moment.

"I love you, too."

She left him, pulling the curtains closed on the windows to keep the sun from keeping him awake, and the closing the door behind her. Alone, he realized that he was going to lose her soon to some college – and then, almost certainly, to some young man. He felt that familiar ache when he thought of it, and reached over his head for one of the larger teddy bears that she'd cleared from the bed. His shoulder protested painfully, but Castle pulled the bear down beside him and hugged it close, resting his chin on top of it. Well aware that he'd probably have trouble sleeping if he allowed himself to brood about Alexis' future he switched his train of thought over to Beckett. He was glad that Alexis and his mother liked her – and she liked them. He thought about her in his bed – that particular thought wasn't going to help him sleep, either, though – and he smiled and closed his eyes, the teddy bear keeping him company instead of Alexis or Kate, for now. The promise of things that might be was enough to let him relax a little, and he drifted off, finally.

OOOOOOOOOOO

When he woke up next, the smell of something wonderful was permeating the bedroom. Alexis had always told him that she knew what was for breakfast before she even came down to the kitchen, but now he knew _how_ she knew. He groaned when he rolled over, his body sore and maybe a little tired, still, but he knew the smell well and it was enough to force him to abandon the bed – and the bear who was still keeping him company – and head for the door, and then the stairs.

A glance in the kitchen showed that no one was there, and the silence in the place told him that the workmen were done – either for the night, or just plain done with what they were doing. The front door was wide open, though, which was decidedly odd.

"Mother?"

"Be right there."

He stopped at one of the barstools in the kitchen and sat down, still sleepy, and Martha came in from the hall and closed the door behind her. She walked over and he watched her eyes as they took in his face and then traveled a little higher to the stitches his hair was covering. Her expression clouded just a little, and he could read the concern in her eyes as she got close. Wanting to head that off, he grinned.

"You made lasagna?"

She nodded, smiling.

"Smells good, doesn't it? And don't yell; I don't want you to wake Detective Beckett."

"_Sound proof room_, Mother," he reminded her.

"Not with the door open, Richard," she pointed out, taking his chin in her hand and holding his face still so she could carefully brush a kiss against his cheek. "You look _awful_."

"I feel much better, though. Where's Alexis?"

"She went over to some friends' houses."

"What? She just got back."

"And she wanted to tell them about her trip. However, with the living room shot up and you sleeping in her bedroom, where would they go if her friends came over here? So I told her to make sure she was back by dinner."

"If she isn't, I get her share."

Which made Martha smile, as he knew it would.

"I hope Detective Beckett likes lasagna – or do you think we should make her something a little less saucy?"

"I happen to know she likes Italian," he assured her. "But if she wants something bland, I'll make it for her – and then I'll eat her share, too."

Martha laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Greedy! I should make it more often, I know." It was his favorite and she knew it. One of the reasons she made the effort when baking it to make it as good as she could. "Why don't you go see if Beckett's awake and I'll check dinner?"

"Sounds good."


	60. Chapter 60

_Author's note: Good thing I didn't get sick in the meat of the story! I'm feeling better now, though, so we should be wrapping up_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Beckett was asleep when he peeked his head in through the doorway. He hesitated, debating, but despite the fact that he knew she needed sleep, he entered his room and closed the door behind him, softly. Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge and reached for her hand. The action caused her to stir, and she opened her eyes.

"Hey."

Her hand tightened on his and she smiled sleepily up at him.

"Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"Okay."

"Sore?"

"A bit."

"Need a pain pill?"

Beckett shook her head and looked around, still sleep-dazed, but trying to wake up a bit.

"Everything okay?"

Castle nodded.

"I just wanted to check on you."

"What's that smell?"

He sniffed.

"I might need a shower…"

She smiled.

"That isn't what I meant. Something smells wonderful."

"Ah, that. My mother is baking a lasagna for dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"She made _you_ chicken broth."

Beckett's smile faded and she was going to argue with him and tell him she was more than capable of handling something as hearty as lasagna, but then she saw the amused glint in his eyes and realized he wasn't serious. She nudged him with her elbow, but not hard.

"You're so mean."

Castle grinned.

"I couldn't help myself." He leaned over and kissed her temple. "Do you need anything right now?"

"Company?"

"I can do that."

She could hear the pleasure at the request in his voice and it made her smile. She leaned back against the pillows that were propping her up and once she was comfortable he sidled up against her. He was properly on top of the blankets, but Beckett took his hand anyway and then rested her head on his shoulder.

"Your room is a lot more restful than I imagined it would be," she told him.

"Yeah?"

"M-hmm. I expected all sorts of toys – video games, big TV and VCR, that kind of thing. Things to keep you awake all night."

He grinned, and shifted, reaching over her and opening the drawer of the stand by his bed. He pulled out a remote and reclaimed the position beside her. He pressed a button on the remote and turned his head just a little, looking over at his dresser. Beckett followed his gaze, her head still on his shoulder once he was holding still again, and as they watched a very large flat screen rise up out of a special harness built into the rear of the dresser.

"Like that?" he asked.

She snorted, amused.

"No _video games_?"

He smirked, and pushed another button on the remote. Another hidden panel opened by the TV, revealing a video game console, and he reached over her again and pulled out a couple of controllers from the same drawer that had produced the remote. He handed one to her and took the other for himself and with a click of the remote he turned on the video game system.

"Play a game?"

"I don't think so," she told him. "I'm not very good at them."

"It's easy," he assured her, flipping through a menu of different games. "It's all set up so we don't even need to get out of bed to change games. Very cool."

She was still uncertain, but his enthusiasm was undeniable so Beckett shrugged and let him choose a game for them to play. He ended up picking one where they had to choose a character to battle the other's, and he showed her how to manipulate the controller to jump, kick and punch.

"I don't know," Beckett said. "You're pretty competitive. I'd hate to beat you and have to deal with you sulking for who knows how long…?"

"I don't sulk."

"You do."

"I _won't_. I promise."

Besides, he knew she wasn't going to beat him. He played all the time and she was new at it.

Kate rolled her eyes, but against her better judgment she agreed to play. He settled beside her, and started the game, helping her pick her final character.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Almost a half an hour later Castle's phone beeped, warning him that there was a text. He dropped his controller and once more reached over her, this time to get his phone. Beckett appreciated that he was being careful not to jar her when he did it, but she did like that he wasn't afraid to touch her, and she thanked him by running her hand along his belly when he moved back to his spot. He smiled, caught her hand and looked at the display on his phone.

"My mother says dinner is ready and wants to know if you're ready to eat."

"Why didn't she just come in?"

"Most likely because the door's closed and she was afraid of what she might see."

"Ah." She smiled, and slid her hand along his stomach again. "Like me beating you at Double Dragon?"

"You didn't beat me," he told her.

"My guy killed your guy."

"That-"

"Eleven times in a row."

"You got lucky."

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you a rematch later, if you want."

He took the controller from her, and turned off the video game.

"We'll see. Are you hungry?"

"Starved."

"In here or out at the table?"

She knew he was asking where she wanted to eat, and as comfortable as his bed was she was ready to try and get up for a while.

"Out at the table."

"I'm going to go help set the table," he told her. "Come out when you're ready."

Beckett nodded.

"I won't be long."

He hesitated and then kissed her, softly at first but then harder when she responded with enough enthusiasm to make him think that dinner might wait just a little while longer. Her hands came up to cup his face, tenderly, and his weight pressed her back into the pillows when he leaned against her, propping himself up with a hand on either side of her. He groaned into the kiss when his shoulders protested the action and her breath caught in her throat at almost the same moment when her gunshot wound complained about the added pressure.

He pulled back, chagrined at how she'd paled.

"Sorry."

Beckett smiled.

"I'm not. We definitely need to continue this conversation later."

Castle echoed her grin.

"Okay."

She leaned forward and kissed him again, but this time it wasn't so sensual. Still nice, though, and more than enough to make him consider staying.

"Go get dinner ready."

"I'm going."

Slowly.


	61. Chapter 61

By the time Beckett joined them at the table, there were several people seated there besides just Castle and his mother. Alexis had returned home and she'd brought a few of her friends with her, while Esposito and Ryan were both sitting down on either side of Castle when she limped up. Castle grinned, and stood up, pulling his chair out for her to take. Putting her between Ryan and Esposito would give both of them a chance to see for themselves that she was doing as well as could be – and that he was taking good care of her. He then sat beside Alexis, which put him across from Kate. Which was fine, too, because then he could watch her to make sure she was eating.

"Look who came to check on you," Castle told her, once he'd seated himself.

"We smelled dinner cooking," Esposito said, giving Martha a smile.

She swatted his arm, but colored prettily at the implied compliment. The guys had helped her get the food to the table, while Alexis' friends had all set it, so they all deserved a share of her lasagna, she supposed. Of course, _she_ knew her family well and had made a large pan, so there was plenty to go around. Especially since there was a large bowl of salad and a couple of loaves of garlic bread to go with it.

Alexis introduced her friends to the detectives, and the girls giggled and immediately started asking them all about being detectives. They tended to watch Esposito the most, but Kat had all of them interested, what with her being shot as well as being a woman. Alexis had almost certainly told them the story, since none of them asked her how she'd been hurt, and there were a few looks around the kitchen as though they were trying to find the bullet holes. Castle knew they were all fixed, though, so none of the girls would have any luck with that.

When dinner was over the girls offered to clear the table. Castle frowned, suspicious. His daughter's friends were very nice, but they were also typical teenaged girls, and in his experience when they offered to help with chores it usually meant that they wanted something. He didn't lump Alexis in with that generalization, although he wasn't entirely surprised when she managed to separate him from the others as the adults all went into the living room and have a drink – all but Beckett who wasn't allowed any alcohol while she was taking medication.

"What can I do for you, Daughter?" he asked as she took hold of his arm and pulled him into the hallway.

"Can I go back over to Grace's?"

He gave her a shocked and injured look.

"You'd _abandon_ me on the day you return?"

The look she gave him was pleading and hopeful, and he'd been helpless against it since she was three.

"_Please_, Daddy? She recorded Glee."

Castle rolled his eyes, but Alexis didn't budge. He finally sighed, and nodded.

"Fine. But don't be too late coming home tomorrow."

She smiled and his heart turned to goo.

"I won't."

"Do you guys need a ride?"

"No. Alice drove us."

He sighed again, and wandered into the kitchen, presumably to get himself a drink but really to talk to the girl that Alexis had named. He knew her friends pretty well, but remembered all of them as little girls in ballerina tutus and Princess Halloween costumes. Not near adults with driver's licenses and their own cars. He reminded her that she needed to be careful, and she assured him that she would. It was all he could do to keep from embarrassing Alexis by offering to drive them himself, and instead he thanked them all for cleaning the table – and loading the dishwasher – and sent them on their way. In a great giggling mob they all headed up to Alexis' room for a moment and then – again as a mob – they came back down and left with goodbyes for all the adults in the living room.

"Where are _they_ going?" Martha asked.

"Grace recorded Glee."

Like that explained everything. But it did, really. Beckett gestured for him to come and sit beside her, which he did, and they all sat and chatted for a short time – mostly about the shoot out, since Martha wanted to hear the whole story from everyone's point of view and that included Esposito and Ryan as well. The two had been warned by Castle that he didn't want to tell his mother any more about the whole held in a closet thing than he'd wanted to tell Alexis, so they had been careful what they let out. Martha was almost as good at interrogation as Beckett, though, so rather than give her more information than they wanted to, both excused themselves, stating that they were tired. Which was only half true.

Martha walked them out, and then looked at the two sitting on the sofa, still.

"I think I'm going to call it a night as well. Do either of you need anything?"

They both shook their heads and watched as she carried her glass of wine down the hall to her room.

"Alone at last," Castle told Beckett with a smile. "Whatever shall we do?"

"I want to read for a while," Kate told him, surprising him. He was almost positive that she hadn't brought a book with her.

"Uh, okay… anything in particular?" He had a fairly large library, after all.

She smirked.

"_Amorous Giants?"_

Castle rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"It's awful."

"It can't be _that_ bad," she told him. "Do you have a copy of it?"

"Unfortunately."

Her smirk turned into a smile.

"Please?"

He couldn't say no to her, of course, and she saw that in his expression right before he capitulated.

"Fine. But no matter how much you beg, I'm not going to be able to give you that time back."

That made her chuckle, and she brought her hand up to her side to press against her injury to keep the laughter from hurting. He frowned at that, but she waved away his concern.

"It's okay," she assured him. "Just a little sore."

Castle nodded, but didn't look convinced – mainly because he wasn't.

"You'll be better off back in bed, I think."

"You know, I can sleep out here," she said. "It's a pretty comfortable-"

"No. You can sleep in my bed where I know you won't be disturbed by anyone or anything – except for the book you want to read, of course." He leaned over and kissed her, softly. "Go to bed or I won't loan you my book."

She rolled her eyes again, but let him help her up and walk her to his room.

"Thank you," she said. "For all of this…"

He smiled as he pulled the blankets back for her and helped her into bed.

"If you knew how much I love having you in my bed, you wouldn't be thanking me."

That made her blush a little, but he saved her from the embarrassment by turning and leaving the room, presumably to get the book she'd asked for. Sure enough, he returned only a few minutes later with a surprisingly large book in his hand.

"That's it?"

"It's an _anthology_," he reminded her, handing it over. "My story wasn't good enough to be first, or last. But you won't have any trouble finding it."

Unfortunately.

Beckett grinned, and patted the bed beside her, inviting him to join her, but already focused on the book he'd given her. Castle stretched out beside her, more than willing to join her, and ready to be still for a while after the huge meal he'd eaten. He rested his head on the pile of pillows and she absently started brushing her fingers through his hair as she started searching for his story in the book.

He was asleep before she had even finished the first page.


	62. Chapter 62

_Author's note: Obviously I didn't mention the Stargate convention up in Vancouver BC that I was going to. Sorry about that! I'm home, now, though, and I'm healthy, so I'm going to get this story moving along again. (And I had a great time!)_

_OOOOOOOOOO_

It was much later when Kate Beckett closed the book she'd been reading and set it aside on the stand by Castle's bed. She looked down at him, watching him sleep for a moment. She started to reach out and touch his cheek, but drew her hand back and instead slipped quietly out of the bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and then turning on the light. She'd have loved to take a shower, but the bandages on her side weren't supposed to get wet and she didn't have any way of showering – or bathing without getting her side wet. She settled for brushing her teeth and washing her face with a washcloth and soap. Feeling a little less grimy – although she knew it was mostly psychological – she turned the light off and opened the door again.

Castle was still asleep. She knew he was tired, but she was pretty much wide awake now – at least for the moment. Not restless, though. The dull ache in her side reminded her that she didn't want to go wandering around trying to find something to occupy her while the rest of the household slept. Beckett went as far as the bedroom door and locked it before heading back to the bed, stripping clothing off as she went. She slid under the blankets, trying to go slowly and not wake him up – just because she was awake didn't mean _he_ had to be, after all.

"Done reading?"

His voice was far more asleep than awake, but proof that she hadn't been completely successful.

"Yes," she whispered.

"And it didn't put you to sleep?"

Beckett smiled, and now she _did_ reach out and touch his cheek, which made him open his eyes.

"It wasn't as bad as you made me think it would be."

"It wasn't that great, though."

"No, it was good."

He arched a brow at her.

"Yeah? You know, I'm a _famous writer_… you don't need to sugar-coat it. It won't hurt my feelings if you thought it was boring."

"It was _different_," she told him, leaning over and pressing a kiss against his lips to stop him from making another disparaging comment. She actually thought the story had been interesting. She could see the unrefined quality in the way the story had been written – different than how he would have done it now – but she hadn't been bored by it. And it had been crazy to read about someone hiding a necklace in the freezer when they'd just found the diamond in the same place. "That didn't make it _bad_."

He smiled at the kiss, and his expression was surprised when he reached for her and his hand encountered nothing but skin. Kate felt a rush of excitement go through her body at the touch and shivered.

"Kate?"

His voice was uncertain, his touch even more so. She wasn't so hesitant when she took his hand and placed it against her uninjured side.

"Hmmm?"

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. His hand slid along her side, though. "Are you sure that we can-"

"We can figure it out," she replied, amused that she had to seduce him, and touched that he was so worried about hurting her that he was willing to hold off for a while. Beckett might have been concerned, but his touch had told her all she needed to know and she was eager for a repeat of their earlier intimacy. "Unless you're too _tired_?"

He chuckled and slid his hand down her body, sensuously.

"I have you in my bed," he murmured, his eyes darkening with desire as she shifted to allow his hand better access. "Do you have any idea how many of my fantasies started this way?"

"Do I even want to know?" she asked him, more focused on his touch now than his words.

"I'll show you."

Beckett pulled his head down for a kiss and arched into his touch, encouraging him to do just that.

OOOOOOOOO

"Good morning, Richard."

Castle had been staring at the coffee maker, waiting for it to finish, and he jumped, startled. Grinning, he turned just in time to see his mother walk into the room, dressed and ready for the day despite the early hour.

"You're up early, Mother."

"I have an early morning breakfast with some thespians who want to convince me to let them use my school."

"For what?"

She rolled her eyes.

"_Acting_, Richard."

"Oh."

Martha smiled, and gave her son a sideways glance.

"So…"

He caught the tone of her voice immediately – even with just the one word – and knew something was coming. Something she found amusing – but not necessarily something that he would.

"So…?"

"I got up last night to check on you. You know; to make sure you had enough blankets and pillows – what with you sleeping on the sofa and all." She walked around the breakfast bar and reached for a cup and the coffee pot, which had just sounded a final gargle to announce it was finished brewing. "Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find you."

Despite himself, he felt his ear burning. He tried for nonchalance, though, knowing full well that she would love to tease him, even though she heartily approved of Beckett.

"I was in my bed," he said, simply.

"Oh?"

Again with the five hundred different reflections in the one word. Castle was sure part of it was her theatrical training and experience, but it never ceased to amuse him – or impress him.

"It was more comfortable," he added.

She gave him a knowing look, and then smiled and leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead, careful not to hurt him.

"I'm glad for you."

She could have teased him, but she was too pleased that he'd finally chosen someone who wasn't flaky. And someone that complimented him so well.

Castle smiled, too, understanding everything she wasn't saying.

"Thank you, Mother. Enjoy your breakfast."

"Oh, I will," she told him; taking a sip of the coffee she'd poured before handing it over to him. "But probably not as well as you'll enjoy yours."

With that parting shot she headed for the door and Castle watched her as she left, bemused and a little relieved that there wasn't more conversation. Once the door closed, he poured two cups of coffee and headed back to his bedroom. It seemed that things were falling into place to give him and Beckett a quiet morning, and he was more than willing to take advantage of that.

Hopefully, she would, too.


	63. Chapter 63

_Author's note: I spent the weekend at my mom's in Tacoma and didn't write during Mother's Day weekend because of it. But I know the season of Castle is over and we need more stories to get us through to the next one!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

Castle knocked lightly as he opened his door, just to warn her that he was coming. She was still in bed, just ending a call on her cell and she smiled when he walked up.

"You realize you knocked on your own door, right?" she asked him.

"It was the polite thing to do," he told her, handing her a cup of coffee. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks." She took an appreciative sip and set it on the stand by the bed. "I just got off the phone with Esposito."

"Everything okay?"

"Yes. They're coming over later, though, if that's all right with you?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Paperwork is piling up on this," she said, ruefully. "I can't take lead investigator spot anymore, since I was shot – I can't be considered neutral. So Javier will. He'll need statements from both of us."

Castle sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to spill his coffee on her.

"About _everything_?"

"Most things." She slid her hand along his forearm. "It'll be okay."

He gave her his best smile, and caught her hand with his own, bringing it up to kiss her palm lightly.

"I'm not worried," he assured her. "When are they coming?"

"A couple of hours."

"Any plans to fill that time?"

"I'd kill to get a shower."

"You can't get your bandages wet, remember?"

She scowled, but he leaned over and kissed her.

"I could give you a _sponge bath_, if you want," Castle offered.

Kate was surprised by the offer – or maybe just surprised that he wasn't leering at her as he offered it.

"Another of your fantasies?"

His smile warmed his eyes – and her heart.

"It wasn't, but it easily _could_ be."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," he murmured. "I thought you knew that." Before she could blush and start feeling too gooey inside, he smiled; easing the serious turn the conversation had taken. "Besides, you _shaved_ me more than once," he reminded her. "It's the least I can do, right?"

OOOOOOOOOOO

A sponge bath is a fairly intimate thing – if done properly. The sponge bath Castle gave Beckett was more than intimate; it was erotic. Not on purpose; he wasn't trying to arouse her, but they were so new to the physical side of their relationship that it was inevitable that his touch – even on her shoulders and back – were still exciting enough to make her heart beat faster and her breath to catch in her throat occasionally.

"You're not supposed to be enjoying it like that, I think," he told her, well aware of her reaction to his soapy cloth on her breasts.

"If it were anyone but you doing it I probably wouldn't," she replied, blushing prettily. "I _could_ do this myself, you know…"

He pulled the cloth away from her, possessively.

"My bed, my job."

She rolled her eyes, but let him have his way. She was enjoying the attention, after all, and the fact that they could be together with no real responsibilities due to their injuries. It wouldn't last long, but she'd enjoy it while she could.

It took much longer than a normal one might have – if either of them knew how long a normal one should have lasted – and there was almost certainly more giggling and caressing happening than usual, but eventually Beckett felt clean enough to begin her day and Castle proclaimed that he'd make her breakfast and asked if she wanted it in bed or out in the kitchen.

"I don't feel like staying in bed," she told him.

"Then when you're ready, come out and join me."

He leaned over, kissed her lightly and then left so she could get dressed without any further distraction. Kate waited until he closed the door and then slowly got out of bed and started dressing.

OOOOOOOOOO

Feeling better than he had in days, Castle decided that brunch would be more homey than just a mere breakfast – and if the guys showed up or Alexis came home there would be more food than if he just made some pancakes and sausages. He opened the fridge and debated what all he wanted to make, pulling various items out to make sure they hadn't spoiled – although it was obvious his mother had done some shopping when she'd made her lasagna – or had ordered fresh from the store, which was sometimes the case. By the time Beckett came out he was chopping vegetables and sautéing some onions at the same time.

"Need help?"

He smiled a welcome as she came over.

"Chop some stuff?"

She took over the chopping and they chatted about simple mundane things while cooking a far larger variety of food for their meal than they would normally have done so if they didn't have the entire day open. Eggs, sausages, hash browns and batter for waffles were their breakfast effort, while a chicken stir fry with various vegetables and an assortment of side dishes to go with it became the lunch part of their brunch. While it seemed like overkill to both of them – although neither admitted it as they were cooking – it turned out to be just enough when Alexis returned just as the last of the noodles were finished cooking, and Castle invited the girl who had driven her home and the one who had accompanied them to join him and Beckett for brunch.

The girls accepted – Castle was a favorite with Alexis' friends – and he started waffles for Alexis while Beckett served up stir-fry for one of the girls while the other made up a breakfast burrito for herself and another for Castle, who decided he wanted one at the last minute. They were all sitting down to eat when Esposito and Ryan arrived together – and grinned in anticipation when they realized that they were just in time to be fed once again. Although both had already had breakfast, neither objected to the idea of eating again. Castle started more waffles, but the guys waved him back to his seat when the first of the batter was poured into the maker.

"I can make that myself," Esposito told him, already putting together a breakfast burrito. "You eat while yours is still hot."

More than willing to do just that, Rick took his seat next to Beckett again. He rested his hand lightly on her knee for a moment – until he realized that he couldn't eat the breakfast burrito one-handed. He gave up, and just as he brought his hand out from under the table he caught Alexis' eye and her knowing look. Slightly abashed at getting caught – although it wasn't like he was copping a feel or anything – he blushed just a little. Enough for her to grin.

_Busted!_

He rolled his eyes and she giggled.

Castle didn't mind. He was just glad she seemed to approve. He wanted to spend a lot of time with Kate, _and_ a lot of time with Alexis, and in order to do that, sometimes it might overlap. He knew she liked Beckett, but he was relieved to see that she didn't mind that _he_ liked Kate, too.

Everyone looked over to see what was so funny and Alexis ducked her head back to her plate to keep them from guessing what she'd seen. When she looked back over she saw that her dad was still watching her and she smiled again, and then stuck her tongue out at him. He returned the gesture and she wondered again why she was even considering going so far away for college when she would miss him so much if she did.

Maybe she'd look at more of the schools that were close by. Just to see.


	64. Chapter 64

**_Epilogue_**

Kate Beckett looked up from the report she was writing at the sound of the elevator opening and smiled when she saw Castle walk out with Captain Montgomery on one side and Doctor Gerald Cutter on the other. They were talking – and from the way Cutter was swinging his arms she was sure it was about golf – but as the three men reached Beckett's desk all three stopped to greet her.

Castle's smile was entirely for her and she felt warm inside like she always did when their eyes met. Things were going very well with them; she was surprised how well and wondered why she'd ever been afraid that he'd be impossible to be in a relationship with. Not that they were living together or anything; Castle hadn't even suggested it and she knew that he was giving her the chance to decide what she wanted without being pressured by him. She loved him for that, and was enjoying the way things were progressing. Eventually, things were definitely going to change and she wasn't sure how it would go, but there was time, still, for that. For now she'd simply enjoy the way he looked at her and the way he loved her.

Gerald Cutter frowned, though, when he saw her.

"Detective? Are you feeling all right?"

She looked up at him, nodding automatically.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

"You look pale," he persisted. "Is your side troubling you?"

"No," Beckett answered, honestly, watching as Castle and Montgomery both took a second, worried, look at her. "It's fine."

It _was_, too. She didn't even ache.

Cutter didn't look convinced.

"Are you getting enough sleep?"

"I've been a little tired," she admitted.

Since Montgomery was well aware of the new relationship between her and Castle in the last month, he had a pretty good idea why she hadn't been sleeping as much as before, but he was far too much a gentleman to mention that – and so was Rick Castle. It didn't stop both of them from looking concerned, though.

"You need to get more sleep, then," Cutter told her, missing the glances from the other two men. "If you're having trouble, I can recommend a couple of good sleep therapists."

Relieved that he was going to allow it to drop, Beckett nodded.

"I'll try to get more sleep," she promised.

"And I'll help," Castle said.

He was suddenly aware of just how much of her time he was taking, and although she'd never complained he hadn't noticed that she looked tired and a little pale, too, really. He'd make sure she slept more in the future now that he was aware of the problem. Looking at her suddenly, he wondered if she hadn't lost a little weight, too. Of course, she'd been shot, so it wasn't unexpected, but still…

Cutter nodded, and let it drop, turning his attention back to Montgomery for a minute so they could set up their next round of golf, and reminding both of them that there was a charity tournament he wanted them to sign up for. Then he left, promising them that he'd keep in touch. Montgomery turned to go to his office, but just as he did the elevator opened again and this time it was Esposito and Ryan who were deposited.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan greeted him. "Did you hear from the insurance company?"

Castle nodded.

"And…?" Esposito asked.

"$6.4 million."

Ryan let out a whistle of disbelief and shook his head.

"That's a hell of a finder's fee. What are you going to do with it?"

Castle sat on the edge of Beckett's desk.

"A lot of it will go to the charities that I support," he told them. "Some will get put in the trust I've set up for Alexis, and I figured that since I wouldn't have found it without help that there should definitely be some presents handed out around here…"

"You mean like a trip to Disneyland for my wife and kids?" Montgomery asked.

"Exactly."

"With first class accommodations?"

"Of course."

"For a week?"

"_Two_, if you want."

Montgomery smiled.

"That sounds nice."

"Good." Castle looked at Ryan. "And you?"

The detective hesitated, and Esposito spoke up.

"He's still paying off the wedding…"

"Not anymore," Castle told him.

Ryan smiled.

"Thanks, Castle."

"And maybe the down on a new place?" Castle added.

Ryan flushed, but they could see that he was excited by that prospect. Wisely, though, he shrugged.

"I'll see what Jenny wants to do."

"Smart man," Esposito said, smirking.

"What about you, Javier?" Castle asked, pointedly.

There was no hesitation.

"I'll show you the car I want."

Castle nodded.

"Sounds good."

"Thanks, bro."

Now Esposito looked excited, too, and Castle was grinning when he looked at Kate.

"Well…?"

She hesitated, but then shook her head.

"I'm not sure… let me think about it?"

"Of course." His smile turned to a frown, though, because she really _did_ look like something was wrong – or that she wasn't feeling that well. "How about a late breakfast – if the boss will let you have a little time off to eat?"

Beckett paled at the mention of food even as Montgomery said he'd allow it, and Castle suddenly realized that he'd seen this before. His jaw dropped and he turned to look at her, suddenly shocked, but the phone on Beckett's desk rang before he could say anything. Ignoring him, she answered it, asked a couple of questions and then hung up and stood up.

"Breakfast will have to wait," she said, standing up and looking at everyone but Castle. "They just found a dead man in an alley."

Ryan and Esposito both turned to head for the elevator, but Rick reached out to stop Kate before she could move that way, as well.

"But-"

She raised an eyebrow at his grip on her arm.

"Yes?"

He let her go.

"Are you sure you should be going out to-"

"I'm a _cop_, Castle," she reminded him. "That's my job."

"But…"

She smiled, brushing her hand along his arm as she turned for the elevator.

"Are you coming or not?"

He hesitated only a second, but then hurried after her. Of course he was coming.

**_The End_**

OOOOOOOOOOO

_Author's note: I know some of you wanted this to go a bit further, but the story is pretty much done, so I figured I'd end it rather than drag it out. I'm sorry the last few chapters took so long to get out._


End file.
